Haven't (and won't) see Never Back Down.
My beef with Red Belt was that it couldn't make up its mind. The fights were slow and unexciting for the most part and the drama fell flat. Some good actors, to be sure, but it was all too forced. Consider the lengths to which these millionaires were willing to go to get an unproven BJJ gym owner in the ring. Seriously? That's a little reminiscent of Don the Dragon Wilson. Passing stolen property and contriving ways to make sure the guy was in debt? It's just so far-fetched I thought it bordered on the silly. Not to mention the idea that MMA could be fought with your hands tied to your waist or blindfolded.
I get that they were trying to show us a morality play, and that the fighting was all metaphor for moral codes and whatnot. But plenty of movies have pulled that off very, very well and not come off as cheesy. Compare this to a movie like the Patriot, for example. The fights themselves didn't need to be overly choreographed, and in most cases, they had far less knowledge on set in terms of fighting than Red Belt did. But the action served to develop not only the story but also the characters. Red Belt didn't. So what I saw was a movie that earned maybe a "C" in terms of action and maybe a "C" in terms of drama. Add a completely implausible storyline and the fact that the guys I wanted most to see in action sat on the bench, and I was left disappointed.
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