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 Good Movie Nov 20, 2009
This is a good movie. It starts off somewhat lame, but gets better towards the middle of the movie. I am giving the movie 3 out 5 stars. Any movie that stars Channing Tatum is worth watching just to see him.
Sonny Nov 16, 2009
I am very happy w/my purchase. I would have liked a better shipping time. Thank you,
"Whatever goes on up here - whatever. Whatever you do to each other - whatever." Oct 11, 2009
So now we know that Tatum Channing is not only a terrific dancer, he's a fighter, as well. If he were more of an actor, he'd be a hell of a triple threat. Looks like the movie industry has tapped Channing to be the next cinematic heartthrob. And he's got the drop dead good looks, the athletic build, and the swagger to pull it off. FIGHTING takes him back to what he seems to do best, which is playing these sulky but good-hearted street hip kids. Here, his character actually hails from Birmingham, Alabama, but as the movie opens he's scammed in NYC long enough to have become wise to the hard knock life.
When longtime street hustler Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard) stumbles onto Shawn MacArthur (Channing), Shawn's been barely making do by foisting shady merchandise on unwary pedestrians. Seeing Shawn handle himself in a fight, Harvey takes him under his wing and introduces him to the underground fight circuit, becoming his manager. And that's pretty much the gist of it. The formulaic plot eases down its predictable track, and when, in the climax, the question looms over whether Shawn will throw the big fight, well, what do you think? If you've seen Gladiator (with James Marshall and Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and Van Damme's Lionheart, then you're familiar with the blueprint.
Films like this, more than ever it hinges on the acting performances, and also because this is more a character study than an action piece. Terrence Howard is a good actor, although sometimes he's so low key that it borders on listless. He doesn't do anything for me here. Good thing then that this flick's more about Tatum Channing. Channing reverts to his patented brooding, not-speaking-a-lot-of-lines thing that he does, but at least he does that pretty well. I'm not sure if he has charisma, but he's got this vibe about him. Also very easy on the eyes is the smoking hot and very good Zulay Henao. She makes the most of her time onscreen, gracefully avoiding all those possible pitfalls assumed with her struggling single mom/nightclub waitress character (whose name is also Zulay). How can you not fall for her? Zulay and Tatum look very good together, and there's a spark and a sweetness in their romance. But one of the few things up in the air about this story is just what is going on with Zulay and Shawn's manager, Harvey? It's certainly a no-brainer that Shawn will go kabonkers when he finds out about this. Although, this is one of those contrived plot devices which could've been easily resolved early on by Zulay simply filling Shawn in about her history with Harvey.
Having checked out the trailer, I thought there'd be more fighting. But Shawn only fights four times in the circuit, and they weren't all that. One of them, though, is with showy mixed martial artist Cung Le, and I'm still trying to figure out how Cung Le lost that one. Skills wise, well, Tatum Channing doesn't have any, really. His character has a school wrestling background, and that's pretty much his style, which is very raw. He bobs and weaves and throws punches, but when push comes to shove, the boy will resort to his ground game. I like that he stays a raw brawler, that he doesn't all of a sudden become this smooth, highly skilled operator. In most of those fights, Shawn is a hair's breath away from getting his head handed to him. That he wins is more because of his big heart and, sometimes, because of sheer luck. I like that the fights are short and brutal (and I wish they were more brutal). Otherwise, feh.
The longstanding concensus is that New York City is the most kinetic place to shoot city scenes. FIGHTING captures the urban vibe, the bustling, gritty, jive-ridden energy of NYC, and it looks as if every cat on the avenue is either working on a hustle or else is getting worked on.
The DVD doesn't really come with a lot of bonus features. There are five deleted scenes (totaling 8 minutes), including an alternative second meeting between Shawn and Zulay. This gives me one more chance to ogle the sexy Zulay Henao who, with mad respect to Tatum Channing, is the highlight of the movie for me. Zulay Henao's brand of sexy and really good performance hike my rating up to 2.5 out of 5 stars. FIGHTING is a nice rental. I'm not sure that I'd buy the DVD.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Booooorrrrrriiiiiinnnnnngggg! Oct 07, 2009
Please don't waste your money on this movie! Please! I did and I'm sorry for it. It is slow and boring and NOT worth the price of admission, or DVD, or even On Demand. Just wait until it comes out on cable. You'll be glad you did!
1 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 underated Sep 23, 2009
I am suprised by all the bad reviews of this movie I thought that it probably wouldnt be very good before I saw it. But I thought it was a good movie not the greatest but good.
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