A young street vendor on 6th Avenue has a run in with some street punks. Little do these scum bags know who they're messing with. Shawn MacArthur is a Southern boy now making New York his home; he is trying to make a living. Unknown to him, the tough guys are connected with a hustler, Harvey Boarden, who likes to think of himself as a fight promoter. Boarden likes to discover talented young men that are willing to fight other young men. The main objective for the fights is the money that can be made because, although illegal, these matches attract high betting people.
Shawn agrees to fight for Harvey. He proves he is someone to be reckoned with. He falls for a young Hispanic girl, Zulay, working in a club where the fighting crowd hangs out. At the club Shawn also meets Evan Hailey, who knows him from his Alabama youth. It appears Shawn's father was a fighting coach who trained him, as well as Evan, who is also making a name for himself in the illegal fighting area. Shawn and Evan are connected to a big fight with a large purse. Harvey figures that by betting against Shawn he will stand to make a bundle. Zulay, the girl that places the bets for Harvey, has another thing in mind. In an ironic twist, Shawn and Zulay show the world they were a winning combination all along, to Harvey's surprise.
We watched this film on the basis of having seen director Dito Montiel's previous movie, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints", which also featured Channing Tatum, the star of this new picture. Mr. Montiel also co-wrote the screenplay with Robert Munic, a man that has worked on television. The film has surprises for viewers that go into without any expectations. "Fighting" shows another side of New York not often seen, like the illegal fighting, and the locations in which Stefan Czapsky captures locations most people never get to see.
Channing Tatum makes a credible fighter. He is a young actor with a lot of promise, as shown here. The excellent Terrence Howard, one of the best actors of his generation working in movies, impresses with his take of Harvey Boarden. Beautiful Zulay Henao is the love interest of Shawn. Luis Guzman doesn't have much to do. Altagracia Guzman, who was the grandmother in "Raising Ramon Vargas", has a few delightful scenes as Zulay's grandma.
"Fighting" was a surprise thanks to Dito Montiel's vision.
Shawn agrees to fight for Harvey. He proves he is someone to be reckoned with. He falls for a young Hispanic girl, Zulay, working in a club where the fighting crowd hangs out. At the club Shawn also meets Evan Hailey, who knows him from his Alabama youth. It appears Shawn's father was a fighting coach who trained him, as well as Evan, who is also making a name for himself in the illegal fighting area. Shawn and Evan are connected to a big fight with a large purse. Harvey figures that by betting against Shawn he will stand to make a bundle. Zulay, the girl that places the bets for Harvey, has another thing in mind. In an ironic twist, Shawn and Zulay show the world they were a winning combination all along, to Harvey's surprise.
We watched this film on the basis of having seen director Dito Montiel's previous movie, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints", which also featured Channing Tatum, the star of this new picture. Mr. Montiel also co-wrote the screenplay with Robert Munic, a man that has worked on television. The film has surprises for viewers that go into without any expectations. "Fighting" shows another side of New York not often seen, like the illegal fighting, and the locations in which Stefan Czapsky captures locations most people never get to see.
Channing Tatum makes a credible fighter. He is a young actor with a lot of promise, as shown here. The excellent Terrence Howard, one of the best actors of his generation working in movies, impresses with his take of Harvey Boarden. Beautiful Zulay Henao is the love interest of Shawn. Luis Guzman doesn't have much to do. Altagracia Guzman, who was the grandmother in "Raising Ramon Vargas", has a few delightful scenes as Zulay's grandma.
"Fighting" was a surprise thanks to Dito Montiel's vision.