This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

William Rockman (Mandylor) was a professional fighter who decided to become a Martial Arts instructor for children after accidentally killing an opponent in a tragic training accident. When Congress outlaws UFC-style underground fighting (is this supposed to take place in the future?), it morphs into something called "Terminal Combat", a far deadlier sport (and should have been the title for this movie). When Rockman's brother Ray Rockman (Wolfe) is killed by reigning Brakus/Tong Po-style super-evil baddie The King (Shamrock), well…you might find this surprising, but William comes out of retirement to get revenge for his fallen brother. It just so happens that unscrupulous Terminal Combat promoter Max Brito (Trejo) is staging the biggest contest yet – a multi-billion dollar fight extravaganza broadcast by satellite. He gets fighters from all over the country, imprisons them in his lair, puts chips in their necks so he can control them, and forces them to fight to the death for amusement and big bucks. But they didn't count on one thing – the scrappy and tenacious William Rockman. He now has to corral the other remaining, non-dead fighters to break out of prison and save the day. Will their fate be terminal…or will they come out as CHAMPIONS? Watching Champions is the Punchfighting equivalent of what a doctor must feel like when they are observing a patient fighting for life who is hooked up to an Electrocardiograph machine. There are long stretches of a flatline where the doctor must despair that the patient is dying, but occasionally it will spike up, and excitement must ensue that there is life left in the patient yet. In other words, there are some commendable things about Champions, but the movie is too damn long at 98 minutes. This stretches out the better aspects and unnecessarily makes them fewer and farther between. If it were streamlined and the lead weight taken out, this movie could almost be a minor classic. If it were 80 minutes long, we'd really have a winner here.Okay, so it was the 90's, Ken Shamrock is involved, and it's what you might call the "early days" of UFC. Most of the fight scenes are like live-action versions of the classic video game Pit Fighter, but with sillier pants (or lack thereof - see cover above). Most of the fighters and fans shout "Yeeeaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!" a lot. This must be why these underground Punchfights to the death are so heavily traded on "black market VHS", and/or why George "Buck" Flower is involved (perhaps they gave him an Irish accent here to distinguish him from Randall "Tex" Cobb).As far as our hero is concerned, it appears that Louis Mandylor is physically shrinking more and more as the movie goes on. If you compare his height to the other people in the movie, it appears he devolves to Tom Cruise-level proportions as proceedings roll on. He also narrates it, presumably for people who find the story too hard to follow. To add more unnecessary plot, it appears he has a history with "The King", there's a love interest between him and fellow fighter Kimberly Pepatone (Blackford, a Paget Brewster lookalike who you might remember from "Force"-ful productions like Total Force and The Silent Force), and a fighter who looks as if David Letterman was younger, and a meathead – who also has a love interest. This guy, who we'll call David LetterMeat, is played by Lee Reherman – a very similar last name to Letterman. Coincidence? Danny Trejo is engaging as the promoter Max Brito, although it sounds like other people are either calling him "Lance Ito" (it was the 90's, after all. Maybe Judge Ito promotes underground fighting on the side. What a thought), or "Max Burrito", which might be horrendously racist. A good chunk of Trejo's dialogue consists of him giving an extended maniacal laugh. Speaking of which, the "corrupt politician on the take", subplot – yet another subplot – was one of the better ones and should have replaced some of the lesser ones. Another bit of the storyline, that Pepatone is a fighter who takes out her repressed anger that stems from a prior assault on her opponents, could be a movie in itself. It was another strand that was undeveloped, which in this case might be good because we didn't want Champions to be over three hours long.At least the fighters are skilled and enthusiastic, and have their own individual personalities. It's not a mush of meandering meatheads like in later movies of this sort. It all comes to an entertaining and enjoyable climax, which should have come much earlier, because at that point the viewer's attention has flagged. The sight of Ken Shamrock dressed in not much more than a red wrestling Speedo while screaming and shooting a machine gun amidst a hail of gunfire, explosions, and guard tower falls is nothing short of awesome, but you have to swim the Sargasso sea to get there.One of the aspects of Champions that adds a level of interest is the fact that rapper Kool Keith is in a couple of scenes for no conceivable reason. He even has an encounter with a confrontational meathead that has "Jesus Saves" tattooed on his chest. So, all is not lost. In other music news, the end credits has a list of bands involved, but no song titles or other information. The list is as follows: Civil Rite, Mother, Try, Faded, Corporate Dick, and Black Ass ID. Maybe they supposed the band names speak for themselves.In the end, Champions does indeed have some bright spots and noteworthy aspects, but they're spread awfully thin over an overly-extended running time. The verdict has to be that we would recommend the movie to Punchfighting fans with a lot of patience.

Erm! What can I say? This is dreadful, the voice over is appalling, "all too frightfully pseudy for words, dear boy", the acting is stilted, only in the fight scenes does this even begin to lumber into any kind of life. Louis Mandylor is one of my favourite actors, and when given the opportunity, he has a natural talent, charm and good comic timing, it's obvious he's a naturally gifted boxer as well, but this kind of thing on his cv can do him no good at all.The video box promotes the presence of Ken Shamrock from American Gladiators, I suspect that this will do his cv no good either.A Turkey? I can hear the gobbling from here!

One of the worst movies I have BOUGHT! I saw the Shamrock's picture on the cover and decided to buy... wrong choice!Nothing to see if you are not mentally ill. A slow-action no-brainer with a crazy mix of unbelievable brutal fights and unnecessary women's breasts, sex scenes and even necrophilia (absolutely was not needed in this movie).Whom I would suggest to watch this movie: 1. Fans of Shamrock will enjoy his decent shape; 2. Those who are into bodybuilding and martial arts will enjoy (not sure) some actors' performances (fighter/stock broker is just great, probably the best acting in this movie).

I really was NOT impressed with this film. The only reason why I rented it was because of the starring roles of former UFC champion Ken Shamrock and former American Gladiator Lee Reherman (Hawk). I used to watch "American Gladiators" religiously, and knowing the projects that other "AG" alumni have been involved in, seeing Reherman in such a bad flick was disheartening (and he wasn't even my favorite Gladiator!). After all, Deron McBee, who played Malibu, got a part in the big budget "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation," to name one. As for Shamrock, his part is merely a blend of his UFC and WWF personae; no stretch at all. Despite me actually staying awake for this movie, I really couldn't get into it. Too many boobs, too much bad acting, no substance.If you're a fan of either Shamrock or "American Gladiators," you just might want to find this one at the video store, if only to see your favorites. Otherwise, leave it and keep scanning the shelves.