The Tournament (2009) User Reviews

What a surprise! 7/10

[MaybeTomorrow · 7/10 · 18 December 2012]

Wow. I was expecting a mediocre executed movie but it turned out to be awesome from the first minute in. I don't know why the movie gets so much negative feedback here.

When you watch the movie it's very clear that the makers were inspired by "Battle Royale" and "Terminator 2". A solid cast: Ving Rhames (always bad-ass), Robert Carlyle, Ian Somerhalder (who does surprisingly well!) and a action-packed small role for Scott Adkins. Guns, gore, boobs and loads of stunts & action!

Highly recommended for action-fans!

7/10

Believe me, Middlesborough never looked better....

[intelearts · 7/10 · 16 October 2009]

There are only three other reviews here so far: two give this 10 (Err... two different named reviewers, identical reviews, duplicate memo to PR team please....idiots) and the other 1 so let's assume some will love this and others will hate it. I'll try to review it....

Plot: pretty easy sell, every seven years the top assassins hold the tournament; they kill each other until the last survivor wins it all; all organized, tracked, and betted on by billionaires, of course.

The whole thing is kind of like no limit hold'em.... but they can't all dodge bullets, baby. Think Tekken and you're not in the right area, it is better than Uwe Boll and that ilk.

Not quite lineage as Guy Ritchie (Obviously) but only needing Jason Stratham this is exactly what is says on the box: an out and out kill or be killed cartoonish film.

Filming is good, nothing too dark or menacing but just nice.

It's not Battle Royale but if action is your thing and you liked Death Race 2000, Shoot Em'Up or Wanted then you'll be happy enough.

Any gripes about morality are irrelevant here, this is in a moral vacuum, and so are plot holes, logic, or how heads explode like watermelons, this is either your type of film or you should really it avoid totally.

Yep, it's violent - limbs fly, people die in well, imaginative ways - but it is not horror.

It's all well put together, nicely cast, and creates enough interest; better than just hunt or be hunted there is a real plot and even character development...

Oh and great to choose Middlesborough, seriously one of the ugliest, most desolate pile of concrete crap evaar...ha ha....shooting it up the kyber pass can only improve it....

This is a movie to watch with mates and wince and cheer to....

Murder and mayhem in Middlesbrough.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 26 November 2016]

No two ways about it, The Tournament is one hell of a bloody silly film, stretching plausibility way beyond breaking point, but that doesn't stop it from being quite a bit of fun.

Every seven years, in an ordinary town, an extraordinary event takes place: the worlds top 30 assassins meet for The Tournament, a fight to the death that sees the winner pick up a cool $10million in prize money. This time around, the arena is Middlesbrough in the UK. That's right, Middlesbrough. Not London, not Manchester, not even Liverpool or Birmingham, but Middlesbrough, which must have the highest concentration of CCTV cameras in the country, for the whole event is broadcast live for the benefit of rich gamblers, who bet on the outcome (even a fight that takes place inside a disused church is somehow broadcast to the punters). It's also clearly not got much of a police force, for there is no sign of the law as Middlesbrough is turned into a battleground.

To ensure that each killer is able to identify the other players, tracking devices have been implanted in their stomachs; these gadgets are also explosive, so if a player gets out of line, they can be instantly 'withdrawn' from the game (with satisfyingly messy results). Favourite for the latest Tournament is the previous winner, Joshua Harlow (Ving Rhames), who is seeking revenge for the murder of his wife. Unwittingly taking part is alcoholic priest Father MacAvoy (Robert Carlyle) who accidentally swallows one of the tracking devices.

As I have already said, the idea that such a contest would and could take place in a town such as Middlesbrough without the immediate intervention of the armed police is ludicrous, but with lots of ballistic action (bullet squibs), martial arts, exploding bodies, impressive parkour, and plenty of vehicular carnage, plus the added bonus of the beautiful Kelly Hu as sexy assassin Lai Lai Zhen, The Tournament is mindlessly entertaining for the duration and should keep most undemanding action fans happy through its sheer energy.

Interesting premise but not nearly as spectacular as it could be

[imdbbl · 19 October 2009]

When I saw the trailer for this film I immediately thought The Tournemnt had potential to be one of best action films of the last years, unfortunately that's not the case. The premise is very interesting even if flawed; every seven years somewhere in the planet(usually in a random city) a tournament between the world's deadliest assassins takes place. 30 assassins fight against each other in a bloody battle royale hoping to survive. The last one standing wins the tournament and receives a cash prize and more importantly the title of world nº1 assassin. This is obviously a receipt for lots of action,fighting,blood,death and so on... But as much as I love the concept, the movie felt short of my expectations...there are a couple of well done fighting scenes but overall the action in the film is not nearly as spectacular as the trailer led me to believe, it's just not impressive at all considering other action films that have been done before, and the few twists in the story are very easily predictable. The acting was average, while Ian Somerholder and others did a good job, Ving Rhames, for instance, was constantly over-acting. The tournament could have been amazing,instead it is a forgettable movie with a few more or less known actors that doesn't deliver what it promised.

5.5/10

It will pass the time nicely

[grindhouse74 · 7/10 · 17 October 2009]

There has been so much trash released over the past couple of years, however The Tournament is one of those fun trashy movies that hits the action spot very nicely, what we have is a game that takes place every 7 years and 30 top assassins play out for the top prize, and yes they have to kill each other to win 10 million, a bug has been placed inside them so they can track each other down and a bunch of rich folk place there bets in who will win.. Well thats pretty much the plot.. So what now follows is a Battle Royal kill fest, and boy do we have some brutal and bloody kills, the film makers were smart to even through in some nudity...and hey presto we have another trashy exploitation movie, but this one kinda rocks, it will remind you of other movies you have seen...like Battle Royal, The Running Man, and even Gamer, so don't expect anything original but there are some nice set pieces, blood gets splattered all over the place and oh... did i even mention that there is some nudity?

Farcical Pumped-Up Action

[drunkenhopfrog · 6/10 · 20 October 2009]

If there is one glorious thing about making movies going in to the second decade of the millennium, it's that someone can have a successful movie, and a pretty good movie, that does not have to have a theater run to gain an audience or make money. There has been plethora of direct to DVD or direct to OnDemand releases that are just as good, or better, or better in a different way, than a lot of wide release movies. Usually the biggest difference between the two are marketability. The main consideration for marketability is the star power of the cast or the filmmakers.

Ving Rhames, one of the stars in the ensemble cast of "The Tournament," is probably the most marketable name associated with the movie. Most people still remember him as Marcellus Wallace from Pulp Fiction, so that right there gives a clue as to the marketability of "the Tournament." That's OK. "The Tournament" should live on in DVD rentals and sales for years to come.

"The Tournament" is ridiculous in its attempt at scripting and plot. The concept and continuity is as (un)developed as a Jason Statham franchise. But the action. Oh, my, the action is dialed to the extreme.

The "plot" is that every seven years the best assassins from all over the word are gathered together in a small town to go at each other in a free ranging field of play until there is one man or woman left standing. This year the action takes place in Middlesborough, a small town in the UK. The advantage of this small town is that it has more closed circuit cameras than any place else in the world. Therefore a team of hackers led by a dude that looks like my friend Spike (of the famous podcast The Paul & Spike Show) can somehow gain control of all of these cameras and bring live feeds of the action to a room full of billionaires from all over the world that are placing bets on the contestants. The group is hosted by Powers (Liam Cunningham), who channels the most campy essence of Richard Dawson from The Running Man .

Included assassins are Joshua Harlow (Rhames), the defending champ who is only back to settle a score; Lai Lai Zhen (Kelly Hu), a killer with a conscience; Miles Slater (Ian Somerhalder) a crazy killer from Texas; and the alcoholic Father Joseph Macavoy (Robert Carlyle) who, through a devious tactic by another assassin, gets pulled into the game against his will.

What develops is a farcical stretch of anyone's credulity, but the action is so fun and violence so over-the-top that a fan of the action genre cannot help but to enjoy the show. The gore level of the violence is nearly on par with Stallone's Rambo and the physical stunts (many actually done by this fun cast) are the high flying craziness of District 13-style.

The finale comes as a bit of a surprise in that it revisits a style similar to action movies of the 80s and 90s. The satisfaction level of the ending is very high.

"The Tournament" is a blast for action fans. The movie is simple with only a hint of a plot that's only purpose is to set up action sequence on top of action sequence. If one starts to deconstruct the plot too much, it is revealed for the silly and contrived object of convenience that it is. So don't. Pop the flick in, grab a pizza and a craft beer, and enjoy the show.

Action thriller in which some killers participate in a brutal chase with heavy stakes for a bloodthirsty public

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 22 October 2022]

A series of TV news reports are shown about acts of violence across the globe ; gunfights , crossfire , assaults , explosions , terrorist attacks, and other acts of murder, both small and larger scale . In some of these reports, the newscasters say that authorities are dismissing some of the random explosions as accidental. Television is really controlled and a sadistic game show is followed by wealthy people betting amount of dollars and it has become the most popular program . The TV game run by a director (Liam Cunningham) in which various murderers are selected for a ruthless manhunt , as each game is selected some extremely hired killers in the Mysterious event called "The tournament". . It is a game of world's best Assassins killing each other while featured live to its buyers as the world's best Show on earth. Here take part the following ones : Oshua Harlow (Ving Rhames) is a main champion , considered to be Number One , Lai Lai Zhen (Kelly Hu) a sexy high kicking, sharp shooting Chinese woman hoping to win enough money to quit 'the life' and disappear forever , Miles Slade (Ian Somerhalder) an crazy Texan who has entered purely as an excuse to create slaughter , chaos and massacre, a free running killer and Parkour expert , Anton Bogart (Sebastien Foucan) , the nasty villainous Steve Tomko (Craig Conway) who has entered as a test of his own hunter/killer skills , among others . Thousands of people watching the tournament , betting on which one of the 30 assassins will survive the next 24 hours "kill or die" and claim . The last man standing receiving the elevated cash prize and the title of Worlds No 1, which itself carries the legendary million dollar a bullet price tag . Every Seven Years The World's Greatest Assassins Gather ... Only One Will Survive . Death by elimination . Coming soon to a town near you!

This nail-biting film contains action , thrills, suspense , blood , a little bit of black humor and is plenty of graphical violence . Special effects laden flick with ultra-violent events , but being really a loose rendition written by Gary Young & Jonathan Frank & Nick Rown freely based on the Stephen King novel that was adapted on cinema by Paul Michael Glaser as ¨Running Man¨ with Arnold Schwarzenegger , Jim Brown and Yaphet Kotto , the film is based very loosely on the novel of the same name . The story deals with a futuristic TV game show in which men hunt them down and kill them in gruesome manners . The movie displays strong and realistic fights and excellent action sequences with bloody attacks and violent , blistering struggles . The highlights of the film are the enjoyable relationship that's established between the peculiar characters of the priest/Robert Carlyle and the murderess/Kelli Hu, as well as the impressive and unstoppable pursuits-crashes between a double-decker bus and a giant truck. The picture belong to ¨dystopian world¨ genre in which tyrannical states are controlled by cruel death games , such as ¨Running Man¨ (Paul Michael Glaser) , ¨Battle Royale¨ (Kinji Fukasaku) and the recent ¨Hunger Games¨(Gary Ross) . The film is carried out by a varied cast , although it stands out Ving Rhames as a hunk and powerful warrior , he steals the spectacle as one army man , as enemies are dispatched in turn . Along with other important actors , such as : Robert Carlyle, Kelly Hu, Ian Somerhalder, Liam Cunningham, John Lynch , Andy Nyman , Iddo Goldberg , Nick Rowntree , Rachel Grant and special appearance by Scott Adkins proving his fighting skills . Being a United Kingdom/United States/Bahrain co-production here the British cast prevails.

It contains a thrilling and appropriate musical score by Laura Karpman, mostly composed by means of synthesizer . Evocative and adequate , though dark at times, cinematography by Emil Topuzov . This lavishly produced motion picture was well directed by Scott Mann . He's an action expert directing some succesful films with plenty of spectacular set pieces , violence , thrills and twisted intrigues , such as : ¨Fall¨, ¨Heist¨, ¨Down Amongst the Dead¨ , ¨Final Score¨ and this ¨The Tournament¨ . Rating : 6/10.

Exactly what you pay for.

[SpicyCabbage · 6/10 · 11 August 2013]

As soon as you read the summary for this movie you know exactly what you are in for. There are no amazing plot twists or outstanding visual effects but if you have made the decision to watch this film then you shouldn't be expecting any.

If you want an easy to watch, over the top action movie which doesn't require too much thought or attention then this will satisfy your needs. It promises blood, guns and lots of fighting and it gives you exactly that. Nothing more and nothing less.

So if you want to kill an easy 90 minutes and don't get frustrated by plot holes, average acting and over the top characters then give it a watch.

Has been done better before!

[e_esben · 5/10 · 27 October 2009]

So there is a tournament every 7 years where the worlds best assassins fight to their death, and the winner wins 10 mio dollar. Each assassin gets an implant and a locating device so they can find each other. The tournaments takes place in a normal city, where the mess that is made will be blamed on terrorists and madmen to keep the tournament a secret.

It is a premise with lots of potential for a fun movie. What breaks this movie is the bad character development; you know who are going to be be the finalists from the start, but just just hope that they will be killed off because there are no reasons to like them.

Still the movie has so great action that makes it relatively enjoyable. There are some brutal kills (e.g. people exploding with meat all over) and some fun fights (e.g. strip club). But it has all been seen much better in movies as The Condemned, Battle Royal, Death Race and The Running Man.

The Tournament (2009)

[SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain · 6/10 · 10 June 2012]

A daft and fun action film that joins a group of assassins all brought together to fight to the death. Perfectly mad and violent action sequences make up this brilliantly made B-movie. When you get a cast this good for such a generic film, it's nice to see them having some fun. Carlyle is the wrong man in this battle royale of assassins. Rhames adds some emotional weight, but let's be honest, who cares? People explode, body parts are shot off, and Somerhalder is having a ball. I loved the idea of a shoot- out in an unsuspecting town. It made it more interesting and dangerous than just being set on an island. It was a lot of fun watching an action movie in sleepy England.

"The Tournament" - a decently cool idea staggers, crawls, then dies.

[bobslider · 5/10 · 27 October 2009]

The Tournament - a deadly game played out every 7 years, where the world's richest people put 30 of the world's deadliest assassins in an out of the way town, and bet on who will be the last man (or woman) standing. The surprise (aha( is that through a plot twist, a drunken priest played by Robert Carlyle becomes an unwilling participant. Ving Rhames, Kelly Hu and that dueshbag from LOST round out the character actors.

A movie like this, for me, needs two things - badass characters - and I mean MAKE THEM BADASS! Have a guy who uses snakes as weapons, and has an eyepatch, and uses a boomerang! Have a girl who has poisons and throwing stars, and who killed her whole family when she was 3 years old - I want some bloody history goddammit. Have assassins who get their arms pulled off and still keep killing. What we get here is a stupid video game sequence for each of the top 5 assassins, THE TEXAN, THE FRENCHMAN, THE Asian CHICK, etc, kicking and punching a bit before freezing for the camera. This is not the way to go. Show them in their environment. SHOW us, don't just tell us how badass they are.

The movie has a stupid subplot where Ving Rhames's wife has been killed, and hes there for revenge, blah blah blah, these movies tend to get all cocked up when they try to make an emotional plot work, and this one is no exception. I feel like having this tournament, plus a bystander who's a priest who then becomes one of the players is more than enough plot for an action movie, the rest can be just watching the carnage unfold, and if the characters are interesting, and the action scenes are creative, that's all it really needs. This movie tries to straddle both, and ends up having mediocre characters having mediocre fight scenes (the two fight scenes with the FRENCHMAN were the exceptions, mostly because I'm a sucker for that parkour jumping around stuff).

One last thing - movies like this need to understand the idea of contrasting elements. Contrast these deadly killers against a very normal town! Show them getting coffee at starbucks, fighting in a wal-mart, contrast crazy with normal. Instead the towns people seem to barely exist, the cops are nowhere, you never get that moment where a kid looks at a bleeding murderer from behind a box of paper towels, and the killer goes "hey there buddy" before blowing away a crazy monkey fighter who leaps over the tootsie roll display. This place is the town equivalent of an empty warehouse.

People are comparing it to death race, but I actually liked that better, because it embraced it's stupidity, and didn't try to have that emotional subplot. The Tournament is really a movie best enjoyed after at least four beers, and even then you might find yourself nodding off near the end.

Action fans will rejoice.

[Fella_shibby · 8/10 · 23 August 2017]

I saw this in 2009 n revisited it recently on a DVD which i own. Action fans should definitely check this out. The plot - A group of sadistic gamblers makes wagers on 30 of the world's most deadly assassins who band against one another in a battle royal. Debutante director Scott Mann did a terrific job considering the budget. The action is non stop. There are shoot-outs, gun play, bloodbaths in unlikely venues, severed limbs, exploding bodies caused by booby-trapped tracking devices, plenty of explosions, car chases, kicking, punching, heads exploding off like melons, severed limbs, wild stunts, a bus/truck chase, nudity and gore. Its really a *ucking shame that this film didn't got the recognition it deserves. The star cast is decent, the hot n attractive Kelly Hu (her sex scene from Farmhouse man), Ving Rhames, Robert Carlyle, Liam Cunningham, Scott Adkins n Sebastian Foucon (the guy from Casino royal). There's an excellent free running sequence courtesy of park-our expert Sebastian Foucon.

Who wins?

[Marc_Action · 6/10 · 14 November 2013]

This could have been a really great action/thriller. It has a very solid storyline and some decent action and fight scenes but the film's laughable, cheap special effects and gore are too great a flaws. Also, Ving Rhames is terribly miscasted here. He's a good enough actor and all, and has played some tough guy roles pretty well. (Think Melvin in Baby Boy 2001 or Diamond Dog in 1997's Con Air.) However, being the world's deadliest, kick-ass, assassin? I'm not buying it. And it shows too. While everyone else's fight sequences are fast and brutal, most of Rhames' scenes are staged so that he has to do very little fighting.

The idea of a killing tournament where the filthy rich bet millions on contestants as if they were dogs on a racetrack, in itself, is anything but new. The films 13 (2010), The Condemned (2007), and even 2001's Rat Race and the Death Race franchise have already covered this plot. What makes The Tournament fresh is the subplot where a priest (Robert Carlyle) struggling with alcoholism accidentally gets tangled up in the tournament, and as a result, becomes a contestant against his will. But he's fortunate enough to win over the help of our co-star Kelly Hu as deadly female assassin Lai Lai Zhen. Seeing whether or not Lai Lai Zhen will make it to the end, with the priest as her extra baggage, is the highlight of the film.

The two plot twists at the very end of the movie are pretty obvious early on. Otherwise, the story is quite entertaining. So I would say it's definitely worth a look. Just prepare yourself for needless gore galore.

Good effects but no plot *** WARNING Spoilers included*******

[datahoover · 4/10 · 20 February 2010]

Well where do i start, This movie has absolutely no plot, absolutely everything is predictable and half of it impossible or unlikely. for example there was a big fight scene in a nightclub. Various assassins were pulling out guns, shotguns , and machine guns.. (how many nightclub doormen would allow you entry carrying these, I am surprised a rocket launcher was not used as well) the effects and fight scenes are good considering they are over the top, there is a lot of gore also for those of you that love a gorefest. Shame there was not a more interesting script though, this is the major letdown for this movie. It is watchable though, but be prepared that the script was as much use as a chocolate teapot when they made this movie.

seen it all before...only better

[agnesvalkay · 25 October 2009]

Like many people I wondered why an action movie with Ving Rhames,Kelly Hu and Robert Carlyle didn't go to the cinema screen.

The answer is...its not good enough.

It is totally predictable from beginning to end, even if you haven't seen the many movies it rips off.

If you can't see who'll win and what part the priest will play after 30 minutes I'd give up.

Liam Cunningham and Robert Carlyle look embarrassed to be doing this. Kelly Hu is beautiful but can't act and other "stars" like Sebastian Foucan, Scott Adkins,Rachel Grant are blink and you'll miss them cameos.

The opening scenes in Brazil show us what to expect as an idiot "top assassin" runs into a room firing wildly then runs out of ammo and is killed.These are the best killers in the world????

even the guns sound like cap guns. Not worth your time

Had potential but slowly falters

[KineticSeoul · 7/10 · 8 March 2011]

This movie really had the potential to be a awesome B-movie, but as the movie progressed it started to lose it's flare. The movie had a strong and entertaining start, not all that original but still pretty darn entertaining never the less. The action choreography is swift and pretty entertaining to watch and the kills were pretty clever in the beginning, like the tactics and methods used to survive while other unexpected stuff going on. If it stuck to the clever manner the assassins went about killing, like by stealth or by just going on a rampage would have been better. But like I said the strong start sort of goes to waste because as the movie progresses it's just a boring shoot out. The plot is about there being a tournament where thirty of the world's most deadly assassins face off against one another for a huge cash prize. The main rule is that you have to kill or you will die and while this is going on bunch of wealthy gamblers bet on who will be the last assassin standing, and this happens every 7 yrs. The problem is there is no use having 30 assassins in this movie cause while it starts off with the scenes of assassins fighting each other, later it just goes off with very quick scene of bunch of assassins dying without showing the actual fights or the cool cat and mouse style of assassination that took place in the beginning. Another problem is while the battleground takes place in a normal town with people, the assassins don't take full advantage of it or do anything all that cool with their environment. It would have been awesome if the killers were a bit more interesting with some cool background, but that just wasn't the case. The creativity dies piece by piece in this movie. This is a movie that had potential but loses it as it progresses and falters, still entertaining at times.

7.1/10

fun simple VIOLENT

[IceSkateUpHill · 6/10 · 26 October 2009]

Ridiculous action is not necessarily taken to a new level but it is certainly taken to a rather fun level in this straight up action flick. It's been done before, see The Condemned, Death Race or Mean Guns. They all feature people killing other people for a large sum of money and or freedom and the protagonist, except in the case of Mean Guns, is an innocent man. Robert Carlyle is the innocent man caught up in a violent game where the best assassins in the world meet up and kill each other while rich folk watch safely from a massive room on computer monitors. Instead of having the killers in an isolated place like an island or a prison the action all takes place in an everyday ordinary town, and the explosions and gunshots are then covered up by the million dollar corporation that runs it to look like terrorist attacks. This makes it more interesting but at the same time a little more macabre which could be better or worst depending on the viewer because there are lots and lots of innocent victims being gunned down here. Carlyle is the star and he is a fine actor but he does not do action like Rhames and Hu do. Somerhalder also is crazy fun as an over the top killer who just loves to kill, he chews up the scenery as his ridiculous over the top assassin, representing America here along with Rhames. The other assassins get some screen time but only up until they are killed off. The action is constant and very fun, the drama is here but not too much to pull away from the action and the characters that have more than several minutes of screen time are all very fun to watch some have some cool skills but for the most part it's all gun play. This is recommended for anyone who likes to watch stuff blow up and Ving Rhames do his thing. Any fan of Somerhalder should see this too because it seems like he does something totally different here and it is very cool. Nothing perfect, but definitely worth seeing for entertainment purposes.

Bullet holes And Plot holes

[astream99 · 6/10 · 27 January 2010]

This is an all-out mindless action-fest full of bullet holes as well as plot holes, but it's really good entertainment if you don't think about it for longer than three seconds and can handle all the violence. "The Frenchman" steals the show in my opinion, with his acrobatic style, played by Parkour founder Foucan who you'll probably remember from the opening sequence of Casino Royale. I'm pretty impressed that they actually managed to flesh out the characters and have an actual story in this too. Not often one sees that in this type of film... Anyway, if you like your action in-your-face and ultra violent, this is the film for you. Check your brain at the door and enjoy.

poor

[thincomfort · 2/10 · 8 November 2009]

The Tournament is a stupid movie.There is a basic idea- ripped off from movies like mean guns and battle royale- but nothing is ever done with it.

The idea that 30 assassins would fight to the death is stupid..why enter a contest with such low odds of survival? although most of them are so stupid they would never last in their job anyway. The characters are all pretty dull..its sad to see Ving Rhames and Robert Carlyle slumming it in cheap rubbish like this, and if Kelly Hu were just required to shoot people and pout she would be OK but she has been lumbered with some cheesy redemption subplot which is beyond her.

There is a lot of criticism of Lian Cunningham here..its not his fault he was saddled with some woeful dialogue and clunky exposition.

The only memorable character is Sebastien Foucan's..and that is only because he does parkour.

There are a few people on here- doubtless with some motive of their own- who keep posting that the movie is amazing, should be in cinemas etc. It shouldn't. It's not up to scratch and is just a brainless shoot em up..on the same level as Seagal's latest cheapo offerings.

should've shot liam cunningham

[jonathanportch · 6/10 · 19 October 2009]

a decent enough if somewhat silly action movie totally spoilt by cunningham's ridiculous accent. dick van dyke's cockney chimney sweep in mary poppins a masterpiece by comparison. lends little and takes away a lot. i hope he's not proud of it.

that aside, the story gory moves along nicely. there's some lively action scenes well filmed and choreographed and accompanied by an adequate if unsurprising soundtrack. Ving Rhames is as dependable as ever while Kelly Hu and Robert Carlyle add some depth to a relatively familiar storyline.

it's by no means a must-see and i can see why, despite it's initial promise, it's gone straight to video. It is, however, a cut above many films that go down that route.

for me, 6 it is. 4 if you count cunningham.

Just plain awful

[markhday · 2/10 · 23 December 2009]

This is seriously one of the worst films I've ever seen. I've never walked out of a film, or switched it off half way through, but this is the most tempted I have ever been.

The film had horrible dialogue, I mean truly shocking. The acting, especially in the betting den and from the "ringmaster" character in particular, was verging on abysmal.

It was so over the top with the gore, that it wasn't shocking, brutal or entertaining... it just looked cheap and naff.

I really wouldn't waste time buying this, watching it on TV, or even downloading it for free. It's an hour and a half of my life I wish I'd spent doing something more constructive like punching myself in the face repeatedly...

Excellent actioner

[dima-12 · 8/10 · 18 October 2009]

When I decided to check out "The Tournament" the expectations were moderate. Actually I expected it to be a pleasant DTV title with a couple of cool actors.

What I got instead was a thrilling actioner that surpasses most of the theatrical releases of the same genre. The action is hyperkinetic and violent, and Scott Mann has undisputed Hollywood potential.

The plot about the assassin tournament is clean and simple, a lot like "Taken" and when it comes to comparison between these two films, only advantage for "Taken" is Liam Neeson. "The Tournament" provides solid acting but it doen't have such a potent star. Actually, if we consider its budget, "The Tournament" is really outstanding in terms of casting because it combines available theatrical-feature actors like Kelly Hu, Liam Cunningham,, Robert Carlyle and Ving Rhames with top DTV names like Scott Adkins. Scott Adkins' potential was obvious ever since he first appeared in Isaac Florentine films and in "the Tournament" he is accompanied by Sebastien Foucan, the parkourist we remember from "Casino Royale".

Fight scenes are marvelously staged, with great fight choreography, but also outstanding gunplay and vehicle stunts. When it comes to the sheer amount of action "The Tournament" gives you the most for bang for the buck. It is very hard to invent some new kinds of action set-pieces and choreographies but in a couple of scenes "Rhe Tournament" does that.

Also, you must bear in mind that action is very violent and gory. The sheer amount of gore is comparable to Neill Blomkamp's "District 9". Bloodletting is stylish and lavish and Scott Mann really has the guts (quite literally) to pull it off.

I am surprised that this film failed to get theatrical release. I mean, it's quite obvious that American distributors wouldn't release because none of the stars are a draw in the US but I guess it should've worked quite well internationally.

Writer Gary Young was lucky to move on into theatrical business with Matthew Vaughn production "Harry Brown". I hope Scott Mann will accomplish the same.

A familiar but explosively entertaining story

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 11 February 2013]

THE TOURNAMENT is another in the string of films 'inspired' by the success of BATTLE ROYALE which feature armed opponents battling each other to the death in a specific location. The difference? This time around, that location happens to be Middlesborough, of all places! Middlesbrough is a run-down city in the north of England that just so happens to be famous for…well, absolutely nothing. So the choice to have it as the film's setting is unusual, to say the least, and seeing Hollywood stars prowling the streets is nothing if not incongruous. But then THE TOURNAMENT is a slightly quirky British production, so we shouldn't be too surprised.

As for how this all stands as a film, it comes across as a mix between THE CONDEMNED and DEATH RACE and offers little we haven't seen before (aside from the setting, of course). Robert Carlyle plays a boozy priest (is there any other kind in the movies?) who unwittingly becomes caught up in a battle between the world's greatest assassins. The storyline is paper thin so the filmmakers wisely choose to focus on the action instead, which is pretty good.

The various set-pieces are explosive and ultra-violent, seemingly designed to showcase the latest effects technology of human bodies exploding into clouds of splattery gore. The camera-work isn't too shoddy, as at least we can see some of what's going on, unlike in many modern-day shaky-cam action flicks. The actors playing the assassins are a fun assortment, ranging from pretty heroine Kelly Hu to martial arts supremo Scott Adkins (sadly underutilised) and CASINO ROYALE's parkour enthusiast Sebastien Foucan. Carlyle gives good value for money as always and it's always a pleasure to see Liam Cunningham in a film, although his role as this film's villain is fairly pathetic. Ving Rhames gives a typically larger than life turn in an extended cameo.

Things pick up for the ludicrous but entertaining climax, which manages to drag in a classic double-decker bus for some high-speed action before the strictly routine ending. And it's true, you know; THE TOURNAMENT is predictable in the extreme, offering absolutely nothing that hasn't already been done (and done better). But you know what? I enjoyed it. It's not something you'll want to watch more than once, but as an example of adult-orientated action cinema it works.

Pretty Disgusting, Pretty Implausible, Pretty Ugly

[chicagopoetry · 4/10 · 18 October 2009]

The Tournament is a pretty disgusting, violent, gory movie that doesn't make any sense. Thirty assassins agree to to play a game in which 29 of them will die and only one will survive, for a prize of ten million dollars. If you are thinking Austin Powers you are right. Ten million dollars isn't that much money considering the stakes, so why would they agree to do it? Stereotypical rich evil people with a severe case of blood lust ala Hostel sit in a big room around a big table making cash bets for twenty four straight hours without dozing off as they watch the action on a big screen. Huh? It doesn't make much sense, does it? There are some pretty good low budget action scenes similar to but not as good as, say, Disrict 13 or Ong-Bak, that make this movie at least watchable, but overall it is just dumb and mean and it will probably give you a stomach ache, even if you are a seasoned horror movie fan. Mindless fun is one thing, but mindless hatred is another thing. If your fetish is watching human bodies exploding and splashing all over the place, this one is for you, otherwise, NOT.

Fun, if you're in the right mood

[Wizard-8 · 4 November 2009]

When I first learned about this movie and its premise, I thought "What? Someone actually ripped off an Albert Pyun movie?!?!" Actually, the Pyun movie that's ripped off is MEAN GUNS, one of Pyun's better movies... though still not that great. I actually thought that these filmmakers had a good chance of improving on Pyun, so I gave this movie a try.

To be sure, this movie is not a masterpiece. There's barely a plot here, and most of the characters are thinly sketched out (the priest's sad situation, for one thing, is never explained.) However, what weaknesses the movie has are made up for considerably with the action. Whew, this movie is almost non-stop action! And the action scenes are pretty well done, with a mix of different kinds of action (martial arts, gunplay, and my favorite, a freeway chase.) Blood squirts, bodies explode, this movie has it all. You might think that this action becomes numbing after a while, but amazingly it keeps your interest up. So if you happen to be in the mood for a non-think kind of entertainment, THE TOURNAMENT will probably satisfy.