Today’s quick review: Fighting. Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum), a young ex-wrestler, makes a meager living peddling junk on the streets of New York. His brawling skill catches the attention of Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard), a down-on-his-luck hustler, who introduces him to the world of underground fighting. Shawn fights and wins, but each victory takes him closer to an opponent he may not be able to beat: his old rival Evan Hailey (Brian White).
Fighting is an action movie and crime drama about a pair of street hustlers trying to cash in on one’s talent for fighting. The movie follows Shawn MacArthur through the ups and downs of his fighting career, a no-name participant in a shabby underground ring that could yet make him a fortune. Fighting emphasizes its characters over the fights themselves, aiming for drama rather than raw spectacle. In this it is only partially successful.
Fighting has an odd flavor to it. The film lives and breathes the city of New York, and in particular scraping out a living in it by any means possible. Everyone in the film has an angle, from Shawn and Harvey down to strangers on the street. This makes Fighting a deliberately lonely watch. Even the film’s leads are just in it for a quick buck, and their few scraps of friendship and altruism aren’t enough to endear them to the audience.
Fighting’s action takes a similar tack: grounded and realistic, but missing the spark to make it engrossing. Shawn fights only a handful of times throughout the movie, and his style is scrappy and improvised. There are no exotic martial arts styles or elaborate stunts on display, just glorified street fights with a prize for the winner. This leads to fights that are earnest but lack both the flash and the tension they would have otherwise.
The story suffers from similar problems. In principle, Fighting is about two losers who pick themselves up by their bootstraps with their persistence, ingenuity, and friendship. In practice, Shawn and Harvey bounce from one fight to the next without much ever changing. Shawn never hones his skill, the stakes are primarily money, and what drama the film does attempt to inject never amounts to much.
The result is a movie that dances to its own beat but ends up suffering for it. Fighting might be worth a watch if you’re interested in a grounded story about struggling for success. Its cast, unique tones and theme, and smattering of action mean that it does offer something to prospective viewers. But neither its story nor its characters are strong enough to carry it as a drama, and its appeal as an action flick is limited.
For a martial arts contest with better action, try Blood and Bone, Man of Tai Chi, or Kickboxer. For a drama about a similar pair of gamblers trying to make big, try Mississippi Grind. For a action-oriented crime movie about a young man who gets in over his head, try Tracers.
5.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 for a credible attempt at drama without the skill to pull it off.