REDBELT: Movie Review

[Mike Brewer]

My first words when I walked out of the theater were, "You guys owe me $10." The movie itself was a real stinker. It was cool seeing so many people we know and train with on screen, and it was really cool that they decided to make Dan Inosanto the supreme grand poo-bah. I didn't realize he was even in the movie when I saw the preview, but I recognized him even in the blurry picture on the gym walls early in the movie.

The knife fight between the star and Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini was pretty cool (if a little clumsy), and you could tell Guro Dan gave them choreography that beginners - or at least "non-knifers" - could easily handle. Slash, slash, hubud. Reminded me of some of the demo stuff I used to have beginner classes do for the public.

The fights weren't all that fast or spectacular, unfortunately, but again - it was cool to see familiar faces. Enson Inoue didn't get to do a fight, and we didn't get to see Guro Dan (aptly named "Moro" even though he was supposed to be the Helio Gracie, Brazilian Grandmaster character) tear things up. The storyline was a bit hokey, and the message might have been overly "Hallmark." I'd have liked to have seen them pick a direction and stick with it in this movie. As an action movie, it was too slow. As a drama, it was too cheesy. One or the other might have worked, but not half-way at both.

For those who train in these arts, it'll be a good time, because the cast is a who's who of Southern California martial arts. You'll see Frank Trigg, Dan Inosanto, Enson Inoue, John Machado, Jean-Jacques Machado, and several other known and loved faces. In the end, though, I'm glad they all got paid and I thought they did a good job with what they had - but the movie was a stinker.

[Hardball]

I'm going to see it this tonight. Why the title Red Belt? Is that supposed to be higher than Black Belt? I'll figure things out after I see the movie.

[Mike Brewer]

Yeah, the Red Belt is like the 10th degree or some such thing. It's a rank there's only supposed to be one of (Guro Dan), and is like the embodiment of the system. At least according to the movie.

And don't come back after the movie and say I didn't warn you. I told you it was a stinker.

Let me just put it this way:

Tim Allen plays the "Action Hero" movie star.

[JkD187]

I thought the movie was awesome....alot of people were sort of fooled into thinking its a MMA movie when i knew from the begining it wasn't.It's not about the fight scences in anyway so i know alot were pissed off about that however the story is about a man and no matter what opposition this man faces he stay true to his morals and never wavers even when all hope seems lost.I think David Mamet is a great director and this is one of his better works which says alot....almost like a modern day American Samurai movie.

The most surprising part.......ALL the movie buffs give it excellent reviews yet some MMA fans didn't like it...weird world huh?

[Hardball]

Wow, did you guys see the same movie? I'm going to see it in a couple of hours. Oh, so redbelt is what the grandmaster wears. Got it!

[Britt]

Would you say better or worse than "Never Back Down?" I still haven't seen either.

[Hardball]

I gotta see "Never back down", I heard it was awesome.

[Mike Brewer]

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.

[l0rca]

Why won't you see "Never Back Down"? I've not seen it either, but I heard from someone (who actually has terrible taste; he recommended Original Sin recently with undeservedly high praise) that it was "the best martial arts movie ever."

[Mike Brewer]

I'm not a fan of teenage soap opera Karate Kid remakes, no matter how they package them. I find myself sitting in the theater shaking my head at how much time I'm wasting on a story that's been told (and likely told better) a million times before. Formula movies don't often impress me much.

If they do, it's because of some outstanding aspect of the acting or story that's uncommon in its peers.

[Hardball]

A Black guy is the hero with a White wife and a white girlfriend; of course folks are going to be upset. LOL

The fight scenes remind me more of George Kirbys Jujitsu instead of brazillian Jiu Jitsu. I had a hard time explaining to my 8 year old student why the cop committed suicide, that sucked. It had the between the lines message of most traditional martial arts flicks, that part I enjoyed.

Overall, I liked forbidden kingdom better because the fight scenes were more exciting.

[Mike Brewer]

Well, since you went ahead and let the cat out of the bag, I'll comment on the cop's suicide.

I thought it was not only ridiculous, but destructive in message that they'd allow the cop to shoot himself in the head and leave his family behind to suffer just to "save the Academy's honor." That's a fucked up message, and there's nothing about it that's either noble or healthy. Show me a guy who learns to tough out adversity and carry on in the face of humiliation and tribulations, and I'm on board. But a guy that offs himself because he was worried his bad judgement might bring dishonor on the commerical Brazilian Jiujitsu school?

Keep that idiocy.

[Hardball]

Originally Posted by Mike Brewer

Well, since you went ahead and let the cat out of the bag, I'll comment on the cop's suicide.

I thought it was not only ridiculous, but destructive in message that they'd allow the cop to shoot himself in the head and leave his family behind to suffer just to "save the Academy's honor." That's a fucked up message, and there's nothing about it that's either noble or healthy. Show me a guy who learns to tough out adversity and carry on in the face of humiliation and tribulations, and I'm on board. But a guy that offs himself because he was worried his bad judgement might bring dishonor on the commerical Brazilian Jiujitsu school?

Keep that idiocy.

Please go back to your original post and use the edit function to warn readers of spoilers ahead. Oops.

[Hardball]

Originally Posted by Mike Brewer

Well, since you went ahead and let the cat out of the bag, I'll comment on the cop's suicide.

I thought it was not only ridiculous, but destructive in message that they'd allow the cop to shoot himself in the head and leave his family behind to suffer just to "save the Academy's honor." That's a fucked up message, and there's nothing about it that's either noble or healthy. Show me a guy who learns to tough out adversity and carry on in the face of humiliation and tribulations, and I'm on board. But a guy that offs himself because he was worried his bad judgement might bring dishonor on the commerical Brazilian Jiujitsu school?

Keep that idiocy.

I had a hard time explaining that to my 8 year old, in fact the poor kid was very upset about that scene.

I don't think he killed his self due to the honor of the school but more because he was stripped of his way to earn a living. He was suspended from the police force without pay and was already hurting from his bouncers job that also stiffed him out of a pay check.

[Mike Brewer]

Originally Posted by Hardball

I had a hard time explaining that to my 8 year old, in fact the poor kid was very upset about that scene.

I don't think he killed his self due to the honor of the school but more because he was stripped of his way to earn a living. He was suspended from the police force without pay and was already hurting from his bouncers job that also stiffed him out of a pay check.

But the suicide note his wife was waving around was talking about the "honor of the Academy." Remember?