Embattled is a terrible movie, there are only two "fights" in the film and they're so poorly choreographed they make "Never Back Down" look like look like a masterpiece of martial cinema. Stephen Dorff is a great actor, and he brings a lot of character to "Cash," the abusive, but wealthy MMA champion dad. However, there isn't a hint of believability to his MMA performances, he looks like he took a Tae-Bo class or three as preparation for this role, via video, mind you, Billy Blanks would tough him some form. The son, I don't remember the actor's name, and don't care to, is in an identical boat; good-enough actor, horrible fighter.
I bought this because people compared it to "Warrior," a comparison is not just overblown, it's actually an insult to the 2011 film. Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton underwent incredible training regiments to prepare for Warrior, and the fights are so well shot they do exactly what film and choreography and camera work are supposed to do, make the fights look better than the real thing. I spent decades training in martial arts, and I fought heavily in full contact circuits before the advent of MMA. I can forgive a lot, because I love the sport, but this movie is not martial arts/MMA film, it's a drama that has some really poorly done action sequences in it to spice it up.
The only thing that they did which I applauded, was have the son lose at the end; there is no way some green-glove with 3 fights under his belt is going to beat a hardened right vet with a killer instinct like the one Dorff's character is supposed to have. Even people who are comfortable fighting, but don't have /that/ level of a capacity for violence don't make it far in the MMA world. I don't know where all this "Dorff's character is brutal" stuff comes from either, you never a flashback to the brothers' father in Warrior, but you really get it, that he did some terrible things to those boys. Here, they show all these flashbacks, and they actually detract from the film, because Dorff just looks like a useless drunk dad from any number of lifetime original movies.
Skip this trash, it's not worth watching. If you haven't seen Warrior, go watch that, if you have, watch it again instead of this.
Prime Video
Embattled
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough, larger-than-life MMA champion (Stephen Dorff) must literally fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued in this emotional thriller.
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More details
- Supporting actors
- Karrueche TranDonald FaisonAva CapriSaïd TaghmaouiElizabeth ReaserLeopold ManswellMimi Davila
- Studio
- IFC Films
- Rating
- R (Restricted)
- Purchase rights
- Stream instantly Details
- Format
- Prime Video (streaming online video)
- Devices
- Available to watch on supported devices
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