So I caught Fighting on one of the movie channels this week and thought it was surprisingly good. While the movie may have been lighter on the “fighting” than I wanted, there were 3 ½ really good fights. Every fight utilized the environment of each urban setting as part of the battle and every one of those fights seemed ultimately real.
Probably my favorite aspect of the movie is that there was no “fighting” montage. The director could have easily added more fights to the movie by doing a classic music montage as Shawn McArthur beat up guys around NYC. You could have had Terrence Howard counting the money, cutting to Shawn bustin more heads, and cutting to partyin’ in the club all to the tune of LL Cool J’s “Mamma Said Knock You Out.”
But they didn’t.
And for that reason alone, I really like this movie.
Now don’t get me wrong, the director did keep in a brief “training” montage. That’s ok. You get to see Shawn training on an empty subway, so that’s kind of neat.
The other thing I enjoyed about Fighting was the lack of dialogue from Channing Tatum. He could have been the annoying brat who learns to fight and talks back. But it turns out his backstory is that of a wrestler from Alabama, who does not speak well or very often and can’t express himself very well either. Channing did a good job with what he was given.
This movie has its faults, but I was completely entertained. I was also compelled through the movie and in between each fight. If you are get a chance, you should give it a watch on Cinemax this month. Fighting is a movie that I am glad I caught.