Redbelt Review: A Story About Man & Bushido
A Tale about Fighting For what you Believe in...
Oct 21, 2009
Redbelt is best described as a thinking man's martial arts movie that delivers its blows with a powerful plot and great acting from its cast. Much of what goes on centers around one individuals struggle to live by a code of honour long since discarded within the confines of modern society.
Upholding Honour, Fighting for Integrity
Redbelt, a movie that encompasses elements of mixed martial arts steeped within the bushido code of the Samurai, allows the audience to follow Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) – Inside man (2006) Dirty Pretty Things (2002). Terry; governed by honour and respect and running a martial arts dojo in the same way, is heading towards bankruptcy only to find his fortunes change for the better, and the twisted reasons why life has suddenly and surprisingly decided to fate him favourably. Chiwetel puts on a believable performance as the idealistic honour bound mixed martial arts instructor who wants only to help and protect those around him. His view of the world. The belief in a system of humility and peace, very nearly blinds him to the reality of the ill intentions of the very people who usher him towards them in order to use his talents for their own personal gain.
Tim Allen known more for his comic talents in the movie The Santa Clause (1994) and TV series Home Improvement (1991) turns his hand at a more serious role, exchanging humour for sarcastic irony. The rest of the cast put on good performances especially Terry’s wife Sondra (played by Alice Braga – I am Legend (2007) and Crossing Over (2008), the ambitious business woman with a distaste for what she calls her husband’s “…purity and fear of money...”
Rebelt gives you what Summer Blockbusters Cannot
The absence of spectacular set pieces and intense comic book action can be forgiven for two reasons; this isn’t a remake of a DC Comic classic and its September; the time of the July blockbuster has passed and audiences can look forward to a handful of more serious well thought through productions unhindered by summer deadlines. Redbelt will possibly follow a trend of movies that hit the box office and do reasonable but not terribly well, but then as they reach DVD, attain an almost cult-like status as a ‘must have’ in any collection.
Redbelt gets a solid 4 out of 5, and it will be interesting to see Chiwetel in upcoming movies Three Way Split 2008 and The Suffering 2009. Sources say he may not return alongside Denzel Washington in Inside Man 2 2010, but time will tell...
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