one of my absolute favorites!

Better Late Then Never

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I honestly don't know where to start with this one. It took me two tries to get through it, as the first 20 minutes nearly put me to sleep (on second thought, maybe I shouldn't watch these so late at night...). Whatever, in any case the filmmakers seemed to have a few things they wanted to say with PIT FIGHTER, but much of the "message" (if one can call it that) is blunted by not really explaining anything and massive imbalance in the narrative threads that would have fleshed out exactly what we were supposed to divine from this poorly edited mess of an action film. It's also bookended by a couple of Bible quotes that have something to do with the scenes they immediately precede/follow, but little else (in my estimation).The basic plot is that a mysterious man who nearly died in a shootout and has memory loss gets taken under the wing of a low level criminal in the Mexican mafia (Steven Bauer, SCARFACE). He discovers/remembers a talent for fighting, and so he starts participating in underground kickboxing matches for money. All the while he has memories of a woman he loved and thought dead, but things change when he sees her one night after a fight.As messy and cheap as the film is, it's not all for nothing. There is a decent amount of kickboxing action, and brutal action at that. There was one scene with a guy's eyeball hanging out of his skull, which was kind of cool. I also thought that the overall pacing of the fight sequences was adequate so that the overly ponderous narrative never got too much to take. The best action scene is probably the final shootout between the titular "fighter" and what I'm guessing was the Mexican mafia. You get to see him mow through all of these guys, often using their own weapons against them, and then resorting to a sword that he brought with him. The gunplay and sword-fighting was a nice changeup from the brawling that came before it.Where the film misses is about everywhere else. They tried to make the main character, Jack (as we learn late into the film), into some religious nut. He allows opponents to "show off" by beating him up before knocking them out. He donates his winnings to a local priest (from Ireland? The ethnic makeup of the cast was head-scratching at times. Was everyone except the mafia an immigrant or living there temporarily?). He also has visions of the Virgin Mary that aren't explained (except kind of at the end where the actual person he's been seeing is named). It was all rather weird, and the last minute revelations/memories he has about his forgotten past smacked of narrative convenience, i.e., to add an extra wrinkle to the final conflict.Another issue is the major subplot regarding Jack's girlfriend(?) Marianne, who turns out to be some university professor-turned-revolutionary stealing from the mafia in order to fund antigovernment rebels (or something like that). The story of an amnesiac who remembers his past and then confronts it would have been sufficient, in my opinion. But, I guess the filmmakers thought since it was set in a Central American country they might as well throw in some half-baked subplot about the very real political and social turmoil in the region...without any nuance, of course.As for the other elements, the acting was generally poor. The best actor was Steven Bauer (of SCARFACE fame), but even it seemed like he was phoning it in. The oddest of the cast had to have been the "doctor" who patches Jack up at the beginning. He had these weird mannerisms and speech pattern that was really off-putting. It also didn't help that his dialogue didn't seem based in reality (I know the filmmakers weren't medical experts, but come on, they could have researched a little bit). The cinematography was decent for a low-budget movie, with the occasional shot that looked like it could be part of a TV documentary, but the washed-out look was kind of depressing and just emphasized how cheap-looking everything was. Camera-work was OK, I guess, but nothing special.Overall, I would say that only those with the lowest of standards would possibly get any enjoyment out of this. It had the potential to be laughably bad, but the tone and look would make it hard to have fun with a drinking game, were someone inclined to make one out of this. Basically, this wasn't worth my time and it probably won't be worth yours either.

I've read the negative comments on this film and agree that there are some things that could have been done to make the movie better. However, Mr. Johnson has made a really good film considering the budget he had to work with. As a recording artist I am well aware of the difference that a big budget makes.The fight scenes were very well done. Dominique Vandenberg is an awesome fighter and looks the part. It's good to see a fight film without the special effects used in today's martial arts movies. A refreshing return to the days when martial artist were only dependent on their own physical skills. Mr. Vandenberg is certainly one to watch for in the future.Steven Bauer and Stephen Graham are great actors and added a lot to this movie. Mr Graham's part was small but so well done. He is one of those great actors that makes it look easy, so natural.From my point of view, Steven Bauer was the star of this film. His character was the thread that tied the story together. Another fine actor that makes the work look easy. Fernando Carrillo is another one to watch for in the future. He is very charismatic.For those of you who are into violence, this film is violent. There are some scenes that are over the top with rage. And there is a lot of killing going on.The theme of a bad guy trying to make up for his past is a good twist.

This movie is all about fighting ("no rules" type of fighting) and shooting. Don't look for anything else, because you won't find it. In my opinion, there are movies (like "Chek law dak gung - Naked Weapon" or this one) that can not be judged by their artistic value. They are not supposed to make you think, to impress you, to make a difference. They are simply made for entertaining. This movie is not very good, but fighting and shooting scenes are done pretty well, even though that stuff that's supposed to be blood doesn't look at all like the real thing. Some of the scenes are more violent than usual, because it is brutal street fighting we are talking about here, not those stylish, beautifully choreographed fight scenes we can find in most of Jet Li's movies.My rating: 6 out of 10.

If you are not ready for drama action so you shouldn't watch this film. Scenario isn't too good. No really good action no anything Van Dam's films are better but it's OK for people who like action and drama mix. (sorry for my English). For know if you really want to watch some action you should really have a look at film Unleashed there is everything what this movie doesn't have action and everything. I don't really know what the film makers wanted to show with this film. I'v have tried to look at the bright side of this film but it has no such thing. I don't know if you want you can watch this film film but it not worth your time. (it's just my opinion)