It's hard to say that you're disappointed in a really good movie. American Gangster wasn't the classic everyone expected it to be, but it was still exceptional. David Mamet's Redbelt falls under this category. The film's plot is congruent with Twilight Samurai in that a humble, gifted warrior struggles through unfair adversity until his skills are recognized. That works for a samurai movie, but it comes off hammy in a modern-day context, especially when mixed martial arts are involved. It still kills this year's earlier American MMA release, Never Back Down.
Brazilian jiujitsu instructor Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) saves a burnt-out action star (Tim Allen) from a brutal bar fight. When things seem to be improving, the action star's sleazy agent (Joe Montegna) steals Mike's methods of practice while he and his wife (Alice Braga) go bankrupt. Mike has to win back his honor by entering the tournament that bastardized his training regiment. The film is host to an orgy of plot developments that make it hard to summarize.The best of these arbitrary developments is Emily Mortimer as paranoid attorney Laura Black. Mike empathizes with Laura and decides to teach her how to defend her self and conquer her fears, showing that the film is more than just a brawler's movie.
Ejiofor is able to evoke the same pain as Hiroyuki Sanada in Twilight Samurai, as well as the beaten ego of Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven. He wears the signature scar on his forehead like the crest of a superhero as he charges through stadium security near the film's climax. Montegna is well-suited as the villain of the story, while the collective group of evil businessmen also includes incomparable Mamet-staple Ricky Jay. Braga is fiery in all the wrong ways, but Mortimer remedies the absence of nurturing female roles in Mamet movies.
Unlike Heist, the tough guys of this movie don't get the snappy dialogue. Mike is more philosophical than smart-mouthed, which makes sense but isn't as entertaining. I was anticipating the hero/villain banter of kung fu movies to explode with Mamet's writing, but that wasn't the direction Mamet had intended. The fact that it starts out somberly realistic, then becomes hellishly realistic, and ends almost like a Mighty Ducks movie brings it down a few notches from being a classic.
Redbelt is a film that would probably baffle generations. My generation will expect it to be an exciting, nonstop action romp and older generations will try to fish out elements of a classic Sport movie, like Rocky. Never Back Down was able to make back its $21 million budget in its first three weeks, with Redbelt still $6 million below budget, because it had a generation to appeal to (while failing at everything else). I enjoyed the movie, but it probably comes down to being part of the two niches the film is associated with, fans of David Mamet's films and fans of martial arts.
All images from www.imdb.com
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