Fighting (2009)

40% of critics liked it
(125 reviews)
44% of users liked it
(746,852 ratings)

A small-town boy hustling his way through the big city forms an uneasy alliance with a scam artist who inducts him into the violent world of bare-knuckle brawling in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints writer/director Dito Montiel's unforgiving urban action film. Arriving in New York City with little… More A small-town boy hustling his way through the big city forms an uneasy alliance with a scam artist who inducts him into the violent world of bare-knuckle brawling in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints writer/director Dito Montiel's unforgiving urban action film. Arriving in New York City with little more than the shirt on his back, Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) makes ends meet by selling counterfeit goods on the street. But times are tough and money is short, and just as things are starting to look grim, Shawn crosses paths with crafty con artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard). Harvey instantly recognizes Shawn's natural talent for street fighting, and offers to help the uneasy newcomer make some quick cash on the bare-knuckle circuit. But making a living by brawling isn't easy because the system is hopelessly corrupt, and the only people who really come out on top are the rich businessmen who place wagers on the disposable fighters. Still, Harvey's instincts were right, and Shawn quickly makes a name for himself by taking down every opponent who crosses his path, including mixed martial arts champs, veteran pugilists, and ultimate fighters. As each bout becomes more intense, Shawn realizes that his only hope for escaping this dark world is to face his fiercest opponent to date. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Dito Montiel
Written By: Dito Montiel, Robert Munic
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Apr 24, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Aug 25, 2009
Studio: Rogue Pictures

Critic Reviews

David Denby, New Yorker
The fights may not be very convincing, but the story's underdog structure is satisfying in a happy-cliché sort of way. Fighting is Rocky without the bombast, Fight Club without the daft metaphysical pretensions.
Ben Lyons, At the Movies
This is a story we've seen dozens of times before.
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies
There's an effective, unstylized authenticity to those fights. A life or death mania, which enhanced the film's credibility.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
Fighting arrives fully charged by the charisma of its star, Channing Tatum.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
There's a better movie inside it struggling to get out.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
By making good use of its New York setting, Montiel does bring a certain indie grit to the generic story.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
Yes, both Channing Tatum and Zulay Henao... have careers for their looks alone, and they'd have better careers delivering pizza than delivering dialogue.
Cris Kennedy, Screenwize
Channing Tatum (GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra) is crazy beautiful, and perfectly cast as a slow, troubled young man.
Dragan Antulov, Draxblog Movie Reviews
the protagonist happens to be played by an actor who looks more like a fashion model than tough street fighter
James Rocchi, Common Sense Media
Street-fighting saga is stylish but cliched and violent.
Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review
Universal's transfer is great, but nothing about this release calls out for attention.
Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review
Fighting consistently feels like a patchwork of better movies without their excitement or rooting interest in character.
Margaret Pomeranz, At the Movies (Australia)
There's something interesting in this film and that's the reality it brings to its subject matter. Scenes seem real. And that's a lot to do with the performances. They're all terrific. But there's the reality of New York too, there's grit here.
Hernán Alcerreca, FILMINK (Australia)
Despite the formulaic script and cringe worthy moments, the performances from the leads and creation of the subculture are well executed by director Montiel.
Bill Gibron, PopMatters
The only thing you'll be 'fighting' is your lagging attention span.
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
Montiel and his collaborators can pat themselves on the back for elevating empty material just a bit, but this is disposable cinema, designed to hit and run after an opening weekend. [Blu-ray]
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
Entertaining and engaging, Fighting has action, romance and a buddy element in a tight, professional package
Clay Cane, BET.com
Fighting is a testosterone-driven movie full of blood, beautiful women, big muscles and enough plot to be a good movie.
Edward Porter, Times [UK]
All of this, however, is plainly just a veneer on a solidly generic punch-up movie, and it thus becomes a drag. A more cartoonish approach would probably have been more fun.
Philip French, Observer [UK]
While everything is highly predictable, the film is well designed and bone-crushingly violent fights are ably staged in Brooklyn.

Read all 23 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bethany M

Two gorgeous men with their tops off. What more could you ask for? There is also a really nice story and a genuinely great film. A must see!
Brad W

This movie was okay, I kinda liked it. The acting was just okay, and Channing Tatum is one of the great new rising stars. The concept was good, but the way they do it wasnt bad, but strange. Their were moments in the movie where Tatum would randomly run into aquantinces in the… More
This movie was okay, I kinda liked it. The acting was just okay, and Channing Tatum is one of the great new rising stars. The concept was good, but the way they do it wasnt bad, but strange. Their were moments in the movie where Tatum would randomly run into aquantinces in the biggest city in America, WTF? In the end I enjoyed the movie, but it still was far from great.
Dean !

An ok fighting film about the underdog on the rise. It's a well made and put together film with some good actors. However I have to say it hasn't got very good fight choreography!! Most of the fights are random brawls, cage fight style mixed disciplines....and don't… More
An ok fighting film about the underdog on the rise. It's a well made and put together film with some good actors. However I have to say it hasn't got very good fight choreography!! Most of the fights are random brawls, cage fight style mixed disciplines....and don't last that long. There isn't a lot of build up to the fights either in terms of tension or training. Overall an ok watch but I thought Never back down was a similar plot film done much better.
KJ P

I actually enjoyed this film. I thought by comparing this to Never Back Down would be an insult, because I enjoyed them both. Fighting delivers many brutal fight scenes that make you shiver, and even though the acting sort of fell off, I can't find myself disliking this film!
Dean M

This action film has action, romance and a buddy element in a tight, professional package. It is a quite familiar to Jean-Claude Van Damme's 1990 film, Wrong Bet in which Channing Tatum taking on the 'street fighter' role.
Al S

A hard-hitting and action-packed drama. It's compelling, excting, furious and powerful. A great flick with strong performances from its cast. Terrence Howard and Channing Tatum are teriffic. It's Fight Club meets Midnight Cowboy. A tough, stylish. adrenline-pumping and… More
A hard-hitting and action-packed drama. It's compelling, excting, furious and powerful. A great flick with strong performances from its cast. Terrence Howard and Channing Tatum are teriffic. It's Fight Club meets Midnight Cowboy. A tough, stylish. adrenline-pumping and heart-pounding film. A surprisingly great and ferocious action flick.
William D

"Fighting," the new film from writer/director Dito Montiel, is one of the worst films of the year. It is wall-to-wall cliches, and Channing Tatum gives one of the most wooden and bland lead performances of the decade. Tatum burst on the scene a few years ago, playing a… More
"Fighting," the new film from writer/director Dito Montiel, is one of the worst films of the year. It is wall-to-wall cliches, and Channing Tatum gives one of the most wooden and bland lead performances of the decade. Tatum burst on the scene a few years ago, playing a supporting role in Montiel's fascinating and under-valued first film, "A Guide to Recognizing One's Saints." It seemed at the time that Tatum might have the kind of raw acting instincts of a young Marlon Brando. But it looks like Tatum is a born supporting actor, where he can liven up the background simply by taking his shirt off and glowering at the camera. He has a tremendous physical presence, blessed with a body that would have made the ancient Greeks swoon. But when he has to carry a film, which requires a lot more than physical prowess and brooding good looks, Tatum comes up dry. Lead actors require a deep wellspring of complex emotion and motivation, which it appears Tatum does not have. He looks here like he has little more than the skills of a good fashion model. Montiel's direction is shockingly bad compared to his debut film. I have no idea what happened. "Saints" is certainly a flawed film, but it also had some moments of extraordinary grace. "Fighting" has all the weaknesses of "Saints" but none of its strengths. The only wonderful aspect of "Fighting" is Terrence Howard's soulful and thoughtful supporting performance as the fighter's manager. Howard is the only person in the cast with anything like acting skill. It's a shame that his beautiful, understated work here will go unseen because the rest of the movie is so awful.
Bobby H

Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, and Zulay Henao all put on decent performances. All other actors in this film are very midicore and at times I even want to say, horribly bad. The soundtrack is very repetative, there is not much of a soundtrack besides the drum of the… More
Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, and Zulay Henao all put on decent performances. All other actors in this film are very midicore and at times I even want to say, horribly bad. The soundtrack is very repetative, there is not much of a soundtrack besides the drum of the "fighter" scenes. The plot itself is well written, but nothing too special. The trialer basically shows all the scenes you might be interested in seeing. If it were not for the three main actors, some super cool fight scenes, and a fairly unpredictable ending than I would be a bit upset with the outcome of this movie. It's still not everything I hyped it up too be, but it's worth a watch. I personally would not buy it - but if you want to rent a nice flick to sit down and watch, its worth that much. Average Film.
Josh L

I liked the style and the setting of the film, but its plot is cliched and preposterous and the movie is boring unless someone is fighting. For a movie called "fighting", it sure didn't have very much of it. Just tedious and made up drama to fill in the gaps.
Pedro H

S-H-I-T, dammit what a stupid idea to create such a stupid movie in first place, the teenage movie industry has never been so shit, maybe they should bring back the honey i shriked the children and introduce it to a teenage movie and that would be better than this!
Lorenzo v

"Some dreams are worth the fight." In New York City, a young counterfeiter is introduced to the world of underground street fighting by a seasoned scam artist, who becomes his manager on the bare-knuckling brawling circuit. <center>"Some dreams are worth the fight." In New York City, a young counterfeiter is introduced to the world of underground street fighting by a seasoned scam artist, who becomes his manager on the bare-knuckling brawling circuit. <center>REVIEW</center> I was quite impressed by the trailer and felt that film was very edgy and gritty, focusing on the main character's inner turmoil and his greed that fuels his fighting. That's what I got from the trailer. The film overall is boring with a cast that cannot give the audience that little bit of emotion that is needed to hold their attention. Channing Tatum plays a simple country boy who comes to the big city making a living selling tit-for-tat merchandise. Until he gets robbed and catches the attention of a 'dopey' Terrence Howard. The acting is really bad and the script just seems to get worse as the film goes on. It feels as if the bad actors were allowed to improvise and yet again there is a 'love interest'; who does nothing to forward the already tedious movie.
Khris N

Hmmmmm.... Channing Tatum is certainly one to watch out for his name keeps popping up in the movies these days... though he is the stereotypical US youth and his accent is very recognisable and his acting.... has yet to develop, to put it nicley. But he's here, and he can't… More
Hmmmmm.... Channing Tatum is certainly one to watch out for his name keeps popping up in the movies these days... though he is the stereotypical US youth and his accent is very recognisable and his acting.... has yet to develop, to put it nicley. But he's here, and he can't be ignored. So lets get back to the movie. Obviously people want to compare this movie to Fight Club, Never Back Down, etc etc....WTF are you on about??? So the movie is about underground illegal fighting. That doesnt necessarily mean its the same as other crap MMA movies these days, because this certainly is a grade above the rest, thanks to the acting talents of some of the cast, and the study in contrasts and relationships between the characters, which is essential and responsible for many of its pivotal moments, not the bare knuckle brawling. "Fighting" means more than just physical fights in this movie, its fighting within the conscience, the spirit and in the mind. Anyways, Terence Howard is hustling the streets (smooth and charismatic as always with his southern drawl) and finds a young street hustler who has a gift for the "fisty cuff." So he draws him into making some good cash by preparing some illegal fights... and begins to realise his young client is far above the average fighter, so the two constantly clash against each other, with personal issues, morality and whatever else comes along in the dark side of sports... like match fixing. And of course.... women. Always women have to be involved. Anyways, , like any blue ribbon prize fighter overnight, it all comes to a head when everything prepares to implode, the relationship is on the rocks, the final fight must be thrown to recieve a nice payout, and to top it off, Tatum has a long standing grudge with the final fighter, who brings back the demons from his young life which he has to face. All in all, its like watching a surreal prize fighter movie, a rise to stardom flick. The music soundtrack is very interesting, its something you would expect to hear in movies like Rocky or Ali and such, and certainly at first it would throw you into confusion... its like, shouldnt this movie be set in Vegas or something?? But thats the irony of the whole movie...its like a Vegas story, but the backdrop is the dark streets of New York in the closed rooms of the rich, the seediness of the niteclubs... its like everything and everyone has been teleported into an alternate world. Anyways, its not that exciting or special, you might get a few good moments from it, but its drama, not an action flick, so dont expect hollywood style fight scenes and such, its down and dirty brawling, nothing glamourous or stylish, but at least realistic and brutal. I enjoyed it once.... and now moving on to the next movie.
Manu G

The Movie was pretty good and very great fights I must say, the ending isn't pretty much to figure out but all around great movie. In New York City, a young counterfeiter (Tatum) is introduced to the world of underground street fighting by a seasoned scam artist (Howard), who… More
The Movie was pretty good and very great fights I must say, the ending isn't pretty much to figure out but all around great movie. In New York City, a young counterfeiter (Tatum) is introduced to the world of underground street fighting by a seasoned scam artist (Howard), who becomes his manager on the bare-knuckling brawling circuit.
Nani V

Eh...I went in expecting it to be what it was and I was right, for once! =) Anyway, Channing Tatum plays the same guy...the down and out guy. So he's selling books on the streets and gets into a fight when someone tries to steal his money. Terrence Howard can see that he's a… More
Eh...I went in expecting it to be what it was and I was right, for once! =) Anyway, Channing Tatum plays the same guy...the down and out guy. So he's selling books on the streets and gets into a fight when someone tries to steal his money. Terrence Howard can see that he's a "good fighter" and offers him to fight for money. He also meets a chick with a kid...typical...lol. One thing that bothered me about this movie was that he had no technique really when it came to fighting. I mean, I'm not a fighter, but I watch enough UFC, to know. lol The ending was also lame...
Bradley W

This movie was okay, I kinda liked it. The acting was just okay, and Channing Tatum is one of the great new rising stars. The concept was good, but the way they do it wasnt bad, but strange. Their were moments in the movie where Tatum would randomly run into aquantinces in the… More
This movie was okay, I kinda liked it. The acting was just okay, and Channing Tatum is one of the great new rising stars. The concept was good, but the way they do it wasnt bad, but strange. Their were moments in the movie where Tatum would randomly run into aquantinces in the biggest city in America, WTF? In the end I enjoyed the movie, but it still was far from great.
Fascade F

LET ME TELL YOU...if you can BUY this movie because of the fact that you are a fight fan...GET IT...Let me tell you if you can RENT this movie because of the fact that you are a fight fan...GET IT...It is Channing Tatum at his best....(next to GI JOE of course...Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!)… More
LET ME TELL YOU...if you can BUY this movie because of the fact that you are a fight fan...GET IT...Let me tell you if you can RENT this movie because of the fact that you are a fight fan...GET IT...It is Channing Tatum at his best....(next to GI JOE of course...Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!) Not only you get to see everyday street games on film in the NYC...you get to see the underground fight circuit as what it could actually be! Get this it is hardcore...with some heart.
Deb S

Small-town boy Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) has come to New York City with nothing. Barely earning a living selling pirated DVDs and knock-off Harry Potter books on the streets his luck changes when scam artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard) sees that he has a natural talent for… More
Small-town boy Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) has come to New York City with nothing. Barely earning a living selling pirated DVDs and knock-off Harry Potter books on the streets his luck changes when scam artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard) sees that he has a natural talent for street fighting and possesses brawling skills. As Shawn's manager, Harvey introduces him to the corrupt bare-knuckle circuit, where rich men bet on disposable pawns. Almost overnight, he becomes a star brawler, taking down professional boxers, mixed martial arts champs and ultimate fighters in a series of staggeringly intense bouts prevailing on sheer force of will. Shawn pursues beautiful single mom Zulay who is bartender at one of the night clubs. Life seems to be looking up for Shawn: he is making money and getting the girl of his dreams until he is confronted by a vicious rival from his past and asked to fix a fight.
Yinalí R

There hasn't been one single movie where Channing Tatum proves himself capable of doing many different roles, and not just being a supposed bada** that some movies need. Within a large list of things that went wrong, this tops them all out. With no regard of an actual plot, and… More
There hasn't been one single movie where Channing Tatum proves himself capable of doing many different roles, and not just being a supposed bada** that some movies need. Within a large list of things that went wrong, this tops them all out. With no regard of an actual plot, and the fact that the acting was pure garbage.
cody f

This movie is horrible and never watch it unless you are with friends and want to poke fun at it. The story is retarded, the acting is worse than a student film, and I don't think one complete sentence is uttered during the entire film. I do not understand why Channing Tatum has… More
This movie is horrible and never watch it unless you are with friends and want to poke fun at it. The story is retarded, the acting is worse than a student film, and I don't think one complete sentence is uttered during the entire film. I do not understand why Channing Tatum has a career, he is just a retard robot version of Josh Hartnett. I guess Terrence Howard has given up on trying to have a career, or just doesn't know how to read a script. This film gets one star because Keith,Scott, and I had such a good time watching it.
Grifty G

Channing Tatum gives Brett Favre a run for his money in the acting department.