The plot is intriguing enough to keep the audience guessing until the end.
Comment
06/28/08
Redbelt (2008)
72 %
Reviews Counted: 110 Fresh: 79 Rotten:31 Average Rating: 6.5/10
Consensus:
Mamet's mixed marital arts morality play weaves between action and intellect but doesn't always hit its target.
Rated: R [See Full Rating]
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Theatrical Release: May 9, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $2,278,707
Synopsis: Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor follows his turn in AMERICAN GANGSTER by taking the lead role in this thoughtful fight movie from writer/director David Mamet. Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, a man who runs his own Jiu-jitsu studio in Los Angeles. Terry's business is failing, causing tension between him... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Chjwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Rodrigo Santoro, Emily Mortimer, Alice Braga
Reviews
All of the tropes that make Redbelt comfortable and efficient also make it a little too familiar.
06/09/08
So Redbelt poses as an action film but delivers what I would call an anti-action action picture. And by not delivering on expectations, Mamet satisfied me with something else, something much more clever.
06/08/08
Despite the serpentine plot, Ejiofor is so compelling at the center, you root for him to maintain his integrity as nearly everyone around him sells out for a quick buck.
06/05/08
From the very first scene I was completely enthralled by this complex character study.
06/04/08
What does it profit a man to be the last honorable person in a corrupt world? That's the question at the heart of David Mamet's Redbelt, a meditation on honor and loyalty set against the backdrop of the world of Mixed Martial Arts and Hollywood.
05/17/08
Con builds up on con in David Mamet's "Redbelt," a story about betrayal, greed, and the fight circuit.
05/16/08
Writer-director David Mamet's wheel turns, spinning a dense texture of concise characters and deviously effective manipulation.
05/16/08
Mamet dialogue is so cool that it makes even his silly movies worth watching.
05/15/08
The coincidental plot twists are implausible, as are some of the performances. Sometimes being enigmatic just insn't as interesting as it should be.
05/15/08
A pretty good picture turned into something like a really good picture by virtue of Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance.
05/14/08
A David Mamet film to its bones, and that means everything is stripped down as far as it can be, to the point of being casually and unremarkably flawless.
05/13/08
David Mamet combines his famous rat-a-tat dialogue rhythms with a story that he describes as 'American samurai'. This collaboration of Mamet, Chiwetel Ejiofor and the purity of martial arts join forces for a captivating and one-of-a-kind film experience.
05/13/08
It is not Mamet's style to tie up all the loose ends. You have to work at earning the enjoyment of his stories.
05/13/08
Aside from the fact that it's never a good sign when a keen interest in a particular sport dominating a movie is a must, we've seen this tale of the virtuous gladiator encircled by ruthless, greedy wolves in countless such sports movies before.
05/11/08
It's the great performance from Ejiofor that makes this an interesting take on the martial arts genre.
05/11/08
An unnecessarily confusing and convoluted cross of Rocky and The Karate Kid that's a tad too smart for its own good, given the simple message it is trying to deliver.
05/11/08
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