Movie Review: Fighting

This movie is by no means new, but I caught it late last night on TV and had to comment on it.  Now, most of you probably think - he's gonna rail against the acting, etc... But to be honest, the acting was all fine.  Even Channing Tatum was serviceable - because he didn't have much to do.  The directing was straight to video level - but again serviceable.  The biggest problem with this thing was the trainwreck of a script.

Why on earth anyone agreed to finance this thing is beyond me.  Maybe because they liked A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, as I did - a lot, but there's no way anyone read this script and thought it was going to be a good movie.  

None of it makes any sense.  At all.  It's more ridiculous than the last few Seagal movies.  

Sean (Tatum) is a kid selling bootlegs on the streets of NY.  But he's not actually from NY.  He's from Alabama.  Why is he in NY?  Never explained.  Why didn't he try to get a real job - since they make a point of saying he's a college graduate?  Never explained.  Why does Harvey (Terrence Howard slumming it) set him up?  Is it a set up or was he trying to rob him?  Why does a band of teens/20 somethings hang out with Harvey?  He sees him beat up one of his young hoods, who don't seem very tough and are never established as tough - and then he's immediately a hot ticket fighter.  No training.  No more fights.  Sean's not even a street fighter to start.  He was just trying to not get robbed.  He didn't even beat someone tough up.  Then, he's making more money per fight than low level pro fighters and he's immediately some sort of hot shot after a fight or two.  Two to be exact.  One of which he doesn't actually win.  They then have an absurd subplot about him punching his dad - who was his wrestling coach.  However, it means nothing to the story and he doesn't even out wrestle his opponents or use his wrestling.  The only time they show him training is before his last fight - against a hot shot pro (who would never take a fight like this) - and he's shadow boxing and doing some push-ups on the subway.  Oh, forgot to mention - the hotshot pro is someone from his college wrestling team.  The same one he got kicked off of for punching his dad.  

And somehow they all go out to the same club.  After every fight.  Even when he gets knocked around.  

It's a shame - because Dito Montiel started off with such a good film... It's another lesson that more money on your next feature doesn't make for a better film.  Don't always jump at the studio offer, sometimes you can sabotage your own career.