CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 4/24/09

Street Fighter

By jenelle riley

Fighting

Dito Montiel (also directed) and Robert Munic

Reteaming with writer-director Dito Montiel, who gave him his first breakthrough role in 2006's A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Channing Tatum once again rises above some predictable storytelling to deliver a knockout performance. The title of the film pretty much says it all: Fighting tells the story of Shawn MacArthur (Tatum) a former wrestler from Alabama who is transplanted to New York and finds he can make a living in underground brawls. Of course, the bad guys eventually ask him to take a dive, threatening Shawn's reputation and his burgeoning romance with single mother Zulay (Zulay Henao). This is simplistic, genre stuff with few surprises. Characters are thinly developed, if at all, and the dialogue is pretty much disposable. It feels like writers Montiel and Robert Munic want to avoid standard film clichés, yet their variations aren't terribly original. For example, it appears Shawn may be asked to throw the fight to protect Zulay, but he isn't. He's asked to throw it to protect his manager (Terrence Howard). It's a different twist, but not different enough. That said, the film is undoubtedly enjoyable, thanks to some bloody, visceral fight sequences and Tatum's undeniable star power. And let's face it: odds are the audience lining up for Fighting isn't going to be that concerned with nuanced plotting.

Fighting
Rogue Pictures
Rated PG-13; 105 min.

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Jenelle Riley is a journalist and playwright living in Los Angeles. She enjoys good food and bad horror movies.



Fighting courtesy Rogue Pictures

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