For a movie titled Fighting, you’d at least expect some good fight scenes, but Fighting fails on even that basic level. The movie has actor Channing Tatum (GI Joe: Rise of Cobra) and Terrence Howard (who barely tries at all in the movie) as a street fighter and his manager respectively. There’s also a dull but pretty love interest and some villains who wouldn’t pass muster on a Saturday morning cartoon series. The real shame of the movie though is that the fight scenes are so poorly edited and choppy, viewers can barely tell what is happening while they are going on in the movie.

Fighting is about a troubled and potentially violent young man named Shawn (Tatum) who meets up with a hustler who senses in him an ability to fight. Together they start winning underground street fights (which are neither as gritty or exciting as they should be). Shawn becomes attracted to a poor but noble single mother (cliche alert) and finally has to fight an old rival (dull, sneering villain Brian J. White). The movie is predictable from start to finish and despite an attractive cast and some nice cinematography of New York, has almost nothing to recommend about it. The widescreen transfer is very good but the DVD has scant extras in the form of some deleted scenes and the option to pick the theatrical or unrated version of the movie.

Fighting is a disappointing mess. The cast is attractive and the movie occasionally springs to life but it’s not often enough. Director Dito Montiel has a lot of talent and directed the impressive movie A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, but Fighting is not a good effort at all. It makes the similar (but even more teen-friendly) Never Back Down look like Fargo.

DVD Grade: C-

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