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Redbelt (2008)

R04/07/2008Drama1h 39m
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There's always a way out. You just have to find it.

Overview

Is there room for principle in Los Angeles? Mike Terry teaches jujitsu and barely makes ends meet. His Brazilian wife, whose family promotes fights, wants to see Mike in the ring making money, but to him competition is degrading. A woman sideswipes Mike's car and then, after an odd sequence of events, shoots out the studio's window. Later that evening, Mike rescues an action movie star in a fistfight at a bar. In return, the actor befriends Mike, gives him a gift, offers him work on his newest film, and introduces Mike's wife to his own - the women initiate business dealings. Then, things go sour all at once, Mike's debts mount, and going into the ring may be his only option.

Top Billed Cast

  1. Cast 1

    Chiwetel Ejiofor

    Mike Terry

  2. Cast 1

    Tim Allen

    Chet Frank

  3. Cast 1

    Alice Braga

    Sondra Terry

  4. Cast 1

    Jose Pablo Cantillo

    Snowflake

  5. Cast 1

    Randy Couture

    Dylan Flynn

  6. Cast 1

    Ricky Jay

    Marty Brown

  7. Cast 1

    Joe Mantegna

    Jerry Weiss

  8. Cast 1

    Max Martini

    Joe Collins

  9. Cast 1

    Emily Mortimer

    Laura Black

Redbelt may not be, though it’s still pretty good, David Mamet’s best, but it is for the most part an interesting sample of his work in that it showcases some of his most finely honed traits and, more importantly, it is proof that the true mark of a gifted filmmaker is the ability to elevate any genre he chooses to use as raw material (his Spartan is another good example, as is Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire); in this case what we have is a deconstructed martial arts film, complete with a Big Tournament at the end – but the events leading up to it, and how the tournament itself unfolds, are handl...