Redbelt (2008) Synopsis:
American samurai film set in an underworld inhabited by bouncers, cage-fighters, cops and special forces operatives.
Redbelt (2008) Movie Review:
At first, the idea of mixed martial arts and David Mamet going together like peas and carrots would be deemed ludicrous. However, the legendary stage and screen writer/director new film Redbelt contains his usual “mametisms,” such as the coarsen dialogue and the reluctant lead male that gets backstabbed numerous times and blends it with his personal passion for MMA. Though Redbelt is not nearly as good as most of Mamet’s work (Glengarry Glen Ross, The Spanish Prisoner), it is a suitable film that has the interesting blend of crafts, even though the MMA is not entirely fleshed out.
Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) owns a quant martial arts studio, where he teaches jujitsu and its principles. His wife, Sondra (Alice Braga), is constantly hounding Mike with their bills and lack of money and it just so happens one of her family members is a Brazilian MMA fighter. One of Mike’s most prized students is cop Joe Ryan (Max Martini) that despite his talent is learning to control his anger under Mike’s guidance.
However, a highly stressed out attorney named Laura Black (Emily Mortimer) stumbles in the studio and a mere accident begins to change Mike’s life. Though no one was physical hurt in the accident, Mike is thrown into a typical Mamet blender dealing with a cocky movie star named Chet (Tim Allen), a lone shark (David Paymer), a shady producer (Joe Mantegna), among other questionable characters. The pulls its protagonist through all kinds of trying situations that all lead up to a finale at a hyped MMA fighting event.
Typical Mamet, Redbelt has a lot of twists and turns that one has to pay close attention to catch everything. You will not be short-changed though; all the effects have a cause, even if it at times you have to repeat the dialogue in your head to catch it. Mamet has practice jiu-jitsu for years and this is a different area for him to tackle, even though his usual themes of betrayal, corruption, backstabbing, blindsiding and redemption emerge. The dialogue is typical Mamet, which includes the tongue garners and the actors repeating their response or answer more than once. Though Mamet’s style and work is commendable, he does not emphasize on the MMA sport, which may anger some looking at Redbelt as a sports movie. The last half of the film moves quickly, but the climatic finale of the film is such a letdown. It is almost that Mamet believes that he has to give the film a Rudy or The Karate Kid type of feel, though the finale situation is utterly ridiculous.
Mamet’s cast includes his usual suspects of Ricky Jay, Joe Mantegna, David Paymer, and his wife Rebecca Pidgeon. The star of the film is for sure Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mike Terry. Ejiofor has already delivered a body of work (Children of Men, American Gangster, Hideous Kinky, and Dirty Pretty Things) that is respectful and diverse, and his role as the patient jujitsu instructor Mike just adds another solid performance to his resume. Emily Mortimer is well cast in her role as the distraught lawyer Laura, but the surprise performance of the cast is Tim Allen work as a self-absorbed movie star that is rescued by Mike from a bar fight.
Redbelt is a different departure for David Mamet, but still has his fingerprints all over it. Though the film works for the most part and captures the world of MMA, some of the choices in the final ten minutes are questionable and nearly terrible nature.
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Redbelt (2008) review written by: Bailey Henderson
7th October, 2008 
