Redbelt

The compelling story of a living relic, an honorable man forced to survive in an age in which honor plays a distant third to considerations of wealth and celebrity. And in spite the scarcity of fight sequences, it's also a fantastic martial arts film that explores the philosophical essence of the discipline without getting too bogged down in scenes of lengthy explication. There are certainly a few miscues, but I was too caught up in a great story to even care. Highly recommended.

Some mind-bogglingly bad scenes, dialogue and acting, plus a fairly ludicrous, nonsensical plot - and a holier-than-thou lead character who is quite easy to dislike. Sounds like a bad time, but still, I got caught up in it. Especially somewhere around the middle part, it has a certain mood and tone and a freshness about it. Ejiofor is good as usual. Some well-shot scenes as well. I ended up sorta liking it. Certainly much, much better than the impossibly overrated Warrior from last year.

A fine return to form from David Mamet, who seemed to have disappeared up his own ass awhile back. This is one of those Lone Man Upholds Ideals in a Corrupt World stories, but it's told with passion and a narrative economy that had me feeling strangled in some parts. Also, Chiwetel Ejiofor is awesome.

I hate Mamet's dialog so much. Seriously. Die in a fire, you stilted language writing motherfucker.

A ragged and masculine character study, and Chiwtel Ejiofor is impossibly badass as always, certainly one of the greatest living semi-underground actors. The plot is a little jumbled though.

I'm not going to lie I was surprised to see Mamet tackle a plot that involves MMA but it's a quite good movie. I think it's safe to say that the fight scenes are good enough but they could've been filmed better. However Mamet is known for his stories and dialog rather than action, so I don't think that will be surprising anyone. I originally saw Chiwetel Ejiofo in Serenity and I'm glad to see he's got a starring role in a very good movie. He's great!

Nice attempt to show the sport of MMA, but ultimately fails in that aspect.

MMA doesn't seem like the best topic for Mamet to handle, but it works out well. Like usual with Mamet, there's more than meets the eye here, and a surprisingly intricate little plot develops. Meanwhile there's still a good amount of realistic MMA, and Ejiofor does a great job, as does msot of the cast (thank god Rebecca Pidgeon's INEVITABLE role in her husband's movie is a small one). As good as the setup is, however, the last 5 minutes soured me to the whole thing just a little bit.

It's too unlikable, too serious, pretty clumsy far too often, and a bit too full of itself. But it is strangely compelling as plot details unfurl.

It's not top-tier David Mamet, but it's a really good movie that adds that Mamet twist to the tradition of fighting movies that aren't really about fighting (and perhaps I should clarify that there's nothing wrong with being traditional in that way).

Respect the teacher; follow the code; do not dishonour the academy. While the final act plays out as the fantasy of the unacknowledged hero finally and triumphantly achieving his glory, it is clear that Mamet is determined to run up hard against what he perhaps justifiably takes as the spirit, or spiritlessness, of the times, and this gives an increased directness and urgency to the contempt for corruption, immorality, and the falsity of the charade that is, for better or worse, his hallmark.

A brilliant performance from Ejiofor grounds a quite wonderful Mamet drama, which only falters during its climax, which lacks the necessary 'punch' to satisfactorily close the story. A gaggle of fine actors and Mamet regulars are great fun to watch, especially Allen's pompous, over-the-hill action star, and Mortimer's teasingly ambiguous lunatic. Fine, moodily evocative camera-work is also a highlight throughout.

Not really a martial arts film in the way the promo material suggests, this is more of a morality play. It takes the traditional underdog story seen many times before and gives us a version with some depth and characters worth caring about. Slow-burning, but Ejiofor's solid portrayal of the honorable everyman fighting against the big guys keeps you watching.

For a movie about MMA, it really avoided the subject. However, the casting of Tim Allen as a rich, washed up, alcoholic actor was right on point.

68.375

It's hilarious how much this movie doesn't know a damn thing about the MMA/UFC. But outside of that, the film starts off well with a good premise but gets bogged down to a bunch psuedo-philosophical bullshit, really idiotic scenes, silly plot holes and a godawful ending. Personally I think they should have gotten a more competant martial artists lead actor{or stunt double, I guess} and threw in some more fight scenes which might have saved this movie from its eyerolling attempts at a plot.

I am not a sports movie fan, but this film delves deeply into characters I can care about.

"David Mamet may not be the visual stylist that Jean-Pierre Melville was, but in most other respects, his Redbelt is faithfully cast in the tradition of the great French auteur's Le Samouraï." - Nick Schager

Came in with low expectations on this film, but in the end I found it entertaining. Story was good although the movie moved a little slowly. I like the conflict of the instructor and wished the writing moved the movie along better.

Mamet's mixed marital arts morality play weaves between action and intellect but doesn't always hit its target.

I have little knowledge on David Mamet, but this is an encouragement to explore both his cinematic and stageplay work. Redbelt is another great example of an intelligent director working in genre film, making both an exceptionally entertaining work but also adding a depth to it. It helps as well that he has someone as good as Chiwetel Ejiofor in the central role, who in a perfect world would be a major star. Some may have criticisms, but this turned out to be a gem after low expectations.

Despite its intriguing exploration of numerous characters, Redbelt fails to create any stakes to make its over dramatized third act work.

A martial arts teacher who takes seriously the honor code from their master samurai. How our troubled world deals with this type of conduct? (Spoiler ahead) Very good movie with great script and a final scene that deserves to be better clarified. How the great master understood the extent of what was happening there?

Mamet's self-seriousness stifles Redbelt's cinematic potential. It's so tightly structured it offers no surprises -- especially not the satisfaction of watching action-movie conventions reward a shared sense of morality.

Definitely not Mamet's best work, but pretty well done, and some good perfomaces particularly by Ejiofor.

This film feels like Crash except it has with mixed martial arts instead of racial tension. Strange mix, to say the least, but it's not bad, until fantasy ending.

Anyone familiar with Mamet will be on the lookout for the hidden motive, the invisible pattern, the controlling intelligence. Even when there's none there. You can almost believe that the writer-director, himself a purple belt in jiu-jitsu, came to the subject through life rather than through movies, and that he had never seen and studied his countless predecessors and competitors. Almost. There is nothing slack, formulaic, on-autopilot about the unfoldment of the plot

Terrific performances all around, especially from Ejiofor. Mamet wisely takes a philosophical approach, rather than making a formulaic fight flick, and shelves his usual twists and trickery for a story that's human and honest. (Still, the fight scenes are pretty cool.)

It's pretty obvious David Mamet doesn't know a thing about MMA and tries too hard to add in his own stylistic interpretation. Unfortunately his too cool for school noir scriptwriting doesn't jive well with the world of MMA. There are some truly ludicrous fight and plot setups in this movie and one of the most cliche endings ever. This could have been so much more..

A very interesting movie with which it wasn't something that I was expecting. This had quite and cast that worked pretty well. It was good seeing Tim Allen doing something a little different. Even though many people didn't like the ending, I didn't mind it.

Cool movie, but kind of disappointing and anti-climactic ending.

A fairly enjoyable movie with some good turns by some good actors, but, uh, I didn't get it. Sorry.

Bad. First off its a really dumb plot, it might have been salvageable if Chiwetel Ejiofor actually knew some martial arts in real life like all leads in martial arts related films almost always do. He, though a very good actor, was badly miscast and seemed out of his depth throughout. If you want to be inspired, watch Ipman, if you wanna slap your forehead at the end of the movie feeling like a total moron, watch this.

Mamet likes con jobs, but here I like the suggestion that the person who strives for a pure life of excellence and integrity is the one who can and will overcome the con-job and the rigged system.

Love this movie! Very well acted, great story, and comforting message.

It's weird, the whole movie moves fairly slow with an ok plot... but then it wraps the ending up way too fast. Some timing issues in there.

Different martial arts movie which puts it's emphasis on the script rather than on fighting. Ejiofor is magnificent.

Another solid effort from Mamet. More of the dialogue feels natural, or less Mamet-ish, though occasionally the lead character and the fight promoter drift into that old familiar world of Mamet-isms. The theme of honor and nobility plays itself out nicely throughout the film, and Mamet does well to highlight the contrast between the training center and everywhere else Terry visits, especially the fight at the end. Terry is all substance, while others are in it purely for the show.

I guess if you like David Mamet you'll love this, but about the only thing I liked was Chiwetel Ejiofor--he is a real man.

Good Movie

There's plenty about this film that bears Mamet's mark, but I wouldn't have expected a conflicted martial arts instructor to be at the forefront of one of his films. Familiar rhythms are in place, duly relayed by seasoned practitioners such as Ricky Jay and Joe Mantegna. Ejiofor brings a more natural approach to his performance. The resulting schism in styles gives the movie an extra energy. It's a serious-minded entertainment that cuts into deeper truths about the frailties of human ambition.

About time somebody made a movie about judo and ju jitsu. Pretty decent effort too.

So David Mamet directs an action film, or a sorta action film with Chiwetel Eljiofor and Tim Allen. The result is pretty good. Slow in spots, but it picked up when it needed too. The MMA use in the film is really well done and keeps the pacing good. The story wraps up well by the end, and it leaves you feeling satisfied. I liked the cast, Emily Mortimer never disappoints, and Tim Allen is a plus, despite what most people think of him. Worth a rental, not a genre film, but still pretty solid.

Great drama, but you're a dope if you think this was supposed to be a fighting movie.

Gripping movie and an excellent performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor. I am surprised to see a serious role by Tim Allen. Points lossed by the ending that leaves a few unanswered questions, but nothing damning.

Plot is bit of a mess and ending is pretty cheesy but Mamet somehow makes it all work pretty well.

Dumb plot, dumb direction, dumb movie. Very boring as well. Grade: D Plus

the story is very good...the ending is a bit short..good acting and good fight scenes...and remember , honor is above anything!

i mean the story is okay, but the acting, the choreography, ...

Uh, Chiwetel Ejiofor is a badass.

Quite good.