Arena (2011 Video) User Reviews

Stylistic, gratuitous exploitation

[krachtm · 5/10 · 9 October 2011]

While I agree with the highly negative reviews already posted, I didn't find it *quite* as offensively bad as they did. Sure, the fight choreography was poor, at times, but it wasn't nearly as bad as Amsterdam Heavy. The acting wasn't much better, but it was still about par for the genre. I guess this is place where I'm supposed to express incredulity over Sam Jackson appearing in this movie, but, really, everyone who watches lots of low budget, direct-to-video movies knows that he'll appear in anything. He's done some really mediocre (and even bad) movies, in the past.

Anyways, the main plot consists of a James Bond villain (Sam Jackson) kidnapping people and forcing them into fighting to the death. That's it. Nothing else. No pretenses to art here. Now, if the fight choreography and stunts were good, I might able to suggest this to fans of direct-to-video B movies inspired by Enter the Dragon and Bloodsport. Unfortunately, they're really not very well done, with some of them looking downright crappy and unimpressive. Some others, however, end up looking pretty decent, though nowhere near Enter The Dragon or Bloodsport. The direction focuses on stylized, bloody violence, with fast cuts, slow motion, and lots of posing. If Michael Bay drives you nuts, I doubt you'll like this much, either.

There's a rather surprising amount of gratuitous exploitation in this movie. If you're prudish at all, I'd warn you to avoid it. There's constant, gory violence and occasional full frontal nudity (female only), making this one of the most overt, unapologetic, and cynical attempts at making a mainstream action movie that I've seen recently. I guess they're saying that if the nudity doesn't get you off, the violence will, like we're all a bunch over-stimulated sociopaths. There's a satirical element to all this gratuitous exploitation, but I think it was inserted merely to deflect criticism.

If you're looking for exploitation, there's plenty of that. Otherwise, I'd say you're best off skipping it. The action scenes aren't good enough. Some people have criticized this as being pornographic, and I have to agree; the violence seems to be almost fetishized. However, amoral as I am, I find the lack of plot and poor fight choreography to be the true problems with this movie.

bad B

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 19 August 2018]

Logan (Samuel L. Jackson) runs an internet gladiatorial bloodsport. Denver fireman David Lord (Kellan Lutz) loses his pregnant wife in a car crash. He's despondent. While on a bender in rundown Acapoco, he is kidnapped by Milla (Katia Winter) and forces to fight in the game. Taiga (Daniel Dae Kim) is the neighboring prisoner.

Jackson is camping it up as much he can. The movie and Lutz refuse to allow it to have any fun. Lord's motivation is problematic. It would have so much simpler to kidnap the pregnant wife and force him to fight for her life. They give him a sword and I don't know why he doesn't just go on a suicide mission. His reasoning makes no reason. Lutz's major failure is his inability to make this ridiculous. It's the wrong actor doing a bad script and failing to understand the silliness of his movie. Even the fights lack commitment. It's a lot of blood and gore with no tension. Then there is the big fat twist at the end. It rewrites so much of the earlier parts of the movie that it would be bad if I actually care.

Not as bad as it seems.

[Bubach92 · 4/10 · 22 April 2012]

Well, you've seen it all before, it's not a new concept but it's still pretty interesting. I sat through the whole movie without any problems at all. Sure, some things were pretty stupid like that an infamous mass murderer wouldn't have more security or that you cannot possibly survive the amount beating the main character receives.

I liked the movie but unfortunately it was too average. The acting is nothing to complain about but the characters are pretty boring. Samuel L. Jackson gives us a typical villain and Kellan Lutz gives us the usual hero, nothing special on that front.

I liked Daniel Dae Kim's character but he had a too small a role. It had every better if they had developed his character more then I would care a lot more about the people who died. There are lots of people who die but I did not think I really cared it was unfortunate and something that they could have worked more with.

This is by no means comparable to Hunger Games/BR, but give it a shot if you just want some pretty OK entertainment.

The new porn - Violence, Gore and Blood

[davidfurlotte · 1/10 · 2 October 2011]

This movie is basically a Hollywood version of a snuff film. There is no real plot other than something that's been used as a sub-plot in television and in other B class movies.

Simple formula.

Kidnap people who have some talent to fight.

Convince them to fight to the death.

Put on shows for the masses and make big money.

Okay, first tiny little problem is this: Where is the money? OBVIOUSLY this is a SUBSCRIPTION based online revenue but it is CHEAP enough for some College kids to afford? RIGHT...

Then we have the second fight for our main hero, David Lord. He is supposed to kill his opponent in less than 3 minutes or the wife of his friend dies. Guess who his opponent is?....Yep, you guessed it, his friend.

Now if you do the math, the ONLY way his friend would be inclined to fight is if HE were told that if he won, his wife and he would be set free.

SO, you have a man that has trained ALL HIS LIFE with weaponry in Martial Arts and he manages to get beaten? Okay, David Lord IS a Marine but seriously, able to beat an opponent who has trained all his life with the Katana? I think not.

I'm only halfway through viewing this but I already know how it's going to end. Unless you're really into watching some senseless killing, give it a pass. If the second half of this movie changes my mind, I'll be back to alert you that my original take on it was wrong. I'm big enough to admit that.

Well, I'm back and surprise, surprise, I was NOT wrong. To say it's a contrived ending leaving us open for a sequel is an understatement. I go with my first warning to you. Give it a pass and a wide berth.

Why Samuel Why ??

[Cinema_Love · 3/10 · 3 October 2011]

Maybe i had high expectations but then, this is the kind of movie we have seen like a hundred times in the past years... A guy blond-haired muscular (Twilight's Kellan Lutz) sees his girlfriend killed in an accident, and she was pregnant.... then he goes on drinking alcohol the next minute, in Mexico... meet a women, that women goes naked and he got kidnapped because it was a trapt... the next minute, he's somewhere in a video game called ''Death Games'' (Original title wow), that is on the internet. So people pay to bet who will win the fights. Samuel L. Jackson is the director of all of this, and our hero, Lutz, will tell him he will kill him at the very end. Samuel laugh, ha-ha. Then, Lutz goes on fight like 8 people before he gets to the executionner, the guy that killed people that are KOed. It's basic formula, it's poor acting, bad special effects and horrible fight sequences... if at least we gets good fights but we're not. At the very beginning, there's a fight we can see it's all fake. I thought it was a joke, when someone hit another with a punch and you can see at least 2 feet of nothing between them, it deserve a good ole' WOW !!!! It's bad and thanks god it did not receive a Theatrical Release.

Terrible and brainless movie with sickening scenes!

[nikicam · 1/10 · 10 February 2013]

This surely is the worst movie I have seen so far. I don't know where to start. I really can't decide what was more annoying in this movie. Bad characters/actors, fights with Galons of gore or spoiled Facebook generation who were enjoying and laughing when they saw blood all over their screens. The plot is so terrible that I just can't figure out how did an actor like Samuel L. Jackson accepted to act in this movie??? The violence is way to sick. I honestly don't wonder why this was not showed in the theaters. As someone already said, this movie is brainless and from now on I will pass movies from its authors. Do yourself a favor and do not watch this movie.

You can call me sick... But I loved it!

[Tribal-Warrior · 7/10 · 20 May 2012]

Very graphic, bloody and violent... and that's just how I like my films.

To those that hated this movie because they don't like displays of graphic violence... Why would you even start to watch something that clearly states in the synopsis "men fight to the death for the entertainment of the online masses."

*Shakes head* I don't know.... But if you like your films violent and bloody you will love this!

If you don't like violent movies definitely give this one a miss.

Also, I thought Kellan Lutz (known for The Twilight Saga) did a great job as the main character, and gave it his all.

And I officially have a new crush after watching Katia Winter in this, who actually gets naked in this... Wow!!

Familiar story given familiar treatment

[Wizard-8 · 13 October 2011]

My first thought upon seeing this movie at my local video store was wondering why Samuel L. Jackson was appearing in a direct-to-DVD movie - did he have some gambling debts he had to pay off quickly? Anyway, Jackson gives the movie a little spark, though he does seem to be acting in his sleep. But he's not one of the main problems of the movie.

For starters, the main plot elements and plot turns are VERY familiar. We have a hero who has lost a wife and is a drunk... who is seen fighting in a bar by people working for the main bad guy... who is subsequently kidnapped... who is forced to fight to the death with multiple opponents, in fights that are sent around the world to people on the Internet. We have seen all this MANY times before, except maybe for a minor plot twist towards the end.

The movie might have been saved by exciting fights and professional treatment, but the movie is lacking in those areas as well. Although there is some bone crunching and blood spilling in the fights, most of the fights are surprisingly lacking impact. There's bad use of slow motion, stuff happens out of camera range, and many times we just see a few seconds of a fight. The movie also looks surprisingly ugly, with unattractive colors or lighting throughout.

I will admit that this movie is far from the worst direct-to-DVD movie that's been made. But there's not enough positive stuff in it to make it worth a rental.

Retardedly awful

[snivellinggit · 2/10 · 23 October 2011]

The movie was merely okay for the first 20 minutes or so. Totally predictable and cliché, but watchable. At the point the the main character, who's only claim to fame is being a marine widower kills the kendo master in a katana duel, the movie just got moronic. From the evil villainess's change of heart that would rival the idiocy of the Baroness falling for Duke, to the terrible montage glossing over the more interesting looking fight scenes, the movie robs the viewer of any entertainment, despite the pornographic violence and the T&A.

Sam Jackson knocks it out the park with his contemptuous performance. It's clearly a mailed in effort, which is all this movie deserves.

An entertaining low-budget action movie

[reefer420 · 7/10 · 8 October 2011]

I think it's safe to say the director of Arena is a fan of the Starz show "Spartacus". This film follows a very similar formula to those stories: Take it to the Extreme. Extreme blood. Extreme nudity. Extreme situations. Most American men will be pleased.

The film opens with a hokey-looking gladiator fight being viewed by various people around the world. We learn that "Death Games" is an illegal online program that features real fights to the death. It's a hit with college kids and Japanese office workers around the globe. The FBI, Interpol, and everyone else are unable to locate them and shut it down.

Our hero, David Lord (Kellen Lutz), is in a car crash with his pregnant wife, who dies. David finds himself seduced by a hot British lady, played by Katia Winter, who will no doubt find herself on the "watch list" of many young men, as she is gorgeous,a good actress,and apparently very willing to do full-frontal nudity. If nothing else, I think she gives the perfect audition for the actual "Spartacus" show.

Samuel L. Jackson plays the "ringleader" of the online fighting business. He is delightfully over-the-top, although it is difficult to get the question of "why is he in this movie?" out of your head. Clearly he owed the director a favor or something.

Amazingly, he probably gives the WORST performance of the film. The main character, the chick, and the assorted bad guys are all pretty decent, but Sam feels a bit wooden, even when he's shouting and dancing around. I agree with another reviewer who theorized that perhaps the director was a bit intimidated when directing the great Samuel L. Jackson. Still, I will give him tremendous props for agreeing to do this movie. Nothing wrong with helping people out, and he is actually IN the movie, unlike many "celebrity cameo" parts in modern films where the big name only appears in one or two scenes.

The fight scenes are a mixed bag. They are pretty bloody, but the great fight choreography of "Spartacus" is missing. They also have an annoying "Vignette" effect on all the fights that darkens the corners of the frame...I found it distracting. There are things that work, though. The first fight looks a little odd, but then you realize that even "in the movie" they are meant to look a little odd, since they are filmed in a green screen room and then given fake backgrounds. This is part of the plot, as the fight locations change each time. One fight might be in a "gladiator" style with swords and armor, another in a "world war I" style with trenches and bayonets. That was very clever and well done.

One thing the film does well is a bit of "fourth wall" humor. References to other movies and TV shows, including a direct reference to "Spartacus", as well as a hilarious "Office Space" moment with a twist, really help remind the viewer that this movie is ultimately meant to be fun.

The main character, Kellen Lutz, was a surprise. I'd never heard of the guy, but he was pretty good. You don't hate him for being a "pretty boy" since he gets himself pretty bloodied and messed up. He definitely seems to be channeling the late, great Andy Whitfield from "Spartacus" with his cold stares and angry, slow-motion screaming; he even kind of looks like Andy.

As I mentioned earlier, Katia Winter stole the show with her Femme Fatale character. Despite the fact that after her third nude scene even I was questioning exactly WHY she needed to be in the buff so much, I enjoyed the hell out of her performance, even when clothed! She has the perfect "evil Bond girl that turns good" attitude, and I predict we'll be seeing a lot more of her in the future.

The director, Jonah Loop, is a veteran special effects producer on many big movies. Despite the low-budget, it's evident there is talent behind the camera. The movie is very well shot and edited, to the point where you actually forget the "low-budge" origins at times. It's really only the fight scenes that look a little hokey. I'd say the guy did a great job with what he had, and I certainly will check out his future efforts.

If you are a fan of shows like "Spartacus" or movies like "Gamer", this is one you should check out. If nothing else, I guarantee you will not be bored.

Total disaster

[stanio-ivanov · 3/10 · 8 October 2011]

Kind of "Saw" series movies, but much more easier to predict the next step. I'm astonished that Sam L.J. has decided to be a part of this movie and I'm really curious if this has payed him off at all :) As mentioned in the plot line itself.. it is brutal movie, but I still can see much more blood and pain into "Spartacus, God of Arena" than in this movie. If you want to loose 87mins when waiting for train or something like that, then this could be a good choice. I never have given so far a review of a film in any forum, but people, please, don't loose your time into watching this unless you're really bored. Basically I would say that the only kind of theatrical performance here is to Nina Dobrev, but rest is just much below of average of what those kind of actors are capable of

Blah blah blah

[xmanuchox · 8/10 · 18 December 2011]

After reading all the reviews, I felt that most people watched the movie as if they were voting for an Academy Award... this is NOT about that.

This is about fights, about blood, is like a classic 80's or mid 90's action/martial arts movie. With a pretty much obvious script (altough in the final 20 minutes there's a twist I didn't expect), and the fighters being "ordinary people" I think is a pretty good movie to watch and have fun. The way they dealt with the fact that was a low budget movie, using the green screen as part of the history was pretty smart.

Anyways, If you are looking for something to lay on the coach and just have fun, and you like Bloodsport type of movies, watch it. If you are looking for Casablanca, keep walking....

Today's reality

[Primus_Gladius · 7/10 · 3 December 2011]

This movie actually shows us, where the future of reality shows will be - - - Already today we have numerous reality shows, and people want more and more - - - - It shows how humanity didn't change - - - even thou we are suppose to be civilized. But if you look around your self, you can see, that most people simply don't give a S%&/$ about fellow human - - - -

The gore and is sickening, it means it is done good. Storyline is predictable, but hey, this is not some kind of deep movie - - - - It is for people that love this kind of gore movies - - - - It is brainless movie, and it is just a movie - - - Thou I am sure, they do organize this kind of fights in the underground - - -

Roman gladiatorial fights just moved in to the basement, and sewers - - - I gave it 7/10 - - - cos, even thou it is not some-kind of exceptional movie making, it is entertaining - - - - to a certain level - - - and it is done well - - - Fights are quite realistic, fighters actually get hurt - - - and it is not SO shallow as one might expect . . . .

Not good

[neil-476 · 3/10 · 8 March 2019]

Kellan Lutz finds himself held captive and forced into gladiatorial fights-to-the-death for internet TV subscription/wagering audiences.

This unoriginal idea is executed (pun intended) brutally but badly. Lutz has a 6-pack but no acting talent, in which he is joined by most of the cast. Samuel L Jackson CAN act, but chooses not to. Instead he delivers the overcooked ham we have seen in The Spirit and Kingsman, albeit without gimmicly costumes or accents.

The sole virtue of this film - if it actually is a virtue, which depends entirely on you - is the buckets of blood and gore which drench the fight scenes.

Unbelievably, the ending even sets up a sequel. Thankfully, 8 years kater it hasn't happened yet. Let's hope it continues not to.

Death Race 6...this time with Sam Jackson and no cars. Not a bad movie, but I'm getting burnt out on this idea. I say B-.

[cosmo_tiger · 6 October 2011]

"What's the one thing we all have in common?...Death." After a tragic accident leaves his wife dead, David (Lutz) is picked to take part in a "game". This game involves two men fighting to the death. When David agrees to do it in exchange for his freedom, the creator (Jackson) has other plans. My theory of movies lately are that there are no original ideas anymore. Recently it seems like it's either a remake, sequel, comic book or a rehash of a movie that has been done. Counting this movie, 13 and Freerunner there are now 4 movies released recently that steal from "Death Race". While I did see the others first it may have skewed my judgment but this was much slower then I was expecting. The plot is...take a guy with no family, force him to fight and kill for his freedom while the evil creator watches. Very predictable and is really only worth watching for the fighting and nudity. On the other hand, why else would you watch this anyway? Overall, not a bad movie, but the plot is starting to get old and over used. That makes it lose the excitement and impact. Because of un-originality I give it a B-.

Would I watch again? - Not this one...but again I'm sure next month another version will come out.

*Also try - Gamer & Death Race 1 & 2

Painfully bad

[zetes · 2/10 · 19 May 2013]

Godawful piece of crap direct to video flick that was somehow able to afford Samuel L. Jackson. Like a startlingly large amount of movies I watch, this is about an underground fighting tournament. Twilight sixth banana Kellan Lutz stars as a muscle-bound fireman who is kidnapped by hottie Katia Winter and dragged to an underground fighting ring where he's forced to fight to the death with other prisoners. One of them is played by Lost's Daniel Dae Kim. Jackson plays the ringleader. He has two sexy Asian ladies who follow him around everywhere. I know Sam Jackson has a reputation of doing anything for a bit of money - but I just don't see how something this schlocky could have afforded even him. It just boggles the mind that he probably wrapped this movie and walked straight to the set of The Avengers. Movies like this can be fun - look at Manborg, which I reviewed last week. That one probably was made for a quarter as much money, but it was inventive and it damn well knew it was stupid. This one is humorless and actually thinks it has something to say. What a crock.

Grade B movie with Samuel L. Jackson!

[toudi · 1/10 · 6 October 2011]

It is so sad when a great actor ends up in grade B movie. But even if it happened to Cuba Gooding Jr. I have never imagined that Samuel L. Jackson could fall so low. Although he never seemed very picky if you remember "Deep Blue Sea" or "Home of the Brave" but he was always successful in choosing movies of at least moderate quality. And to be honest his flicks always get better ratings than they should which is not surprising, he is one of the most likable and charismatic actors in Hollywood. I always wonder can the actors predict how awful a movie is going to be before signing up for it. The answer more and more often seems to be they can't. The first question an actor should ask the producer is how high is the budget then they should really carefully read the script. The choice between acting in one good movie every two years or in three mediocre ones a year should be obvious. But it's not! Arena's budget surprisingly isn't that bad what it lacks most of all was a good screenplay! And it's the combination of first time director and inexperienced first time writers that made it a grade B movie.

gruesome lovers may actually quite enjoy it.

[saadgkhan · 3/10 · 9 May 2012]

Arena – TRASH IT (C) Arena is a perfect example of how bad movies can be made in Hollywood. Casting Samuel L Jackson and Kellan Lutz seemed like a good cast for an action flick but when the production is C grade the movie will turn out to be an outer trash too. Arena's story is just like Hostel and The Tournament, where the kidnapped victims are tortured on the name of pleasure for public viewing. Samuel L Jackson is doing many trashy movies lately. Kellan Lutz is all about physique, he still needs to improve a lot but defiantly he is good in kicking some A**. Nina Dobrev was wasted in very small part. Kate Winter is exotic and kind of the only actor in the movie who acted good. Overall, Arena is time passer trash, though gruesome lovers may actually quite enjoy it.

"The Running Man" for adults!

[abovethelaw-95473 · 7/10 · 4 July 2021]

I really don't understand how this movie flopped? Worldwide gross only $4,800 and a budget of $10 million!!!! WTF...I've seen movies 100 times worse than this one. Maybe should have been promoted better? If you like blood, gore, action and sex than check out this movie. I'll guarantee you'll like it!

The important thing to remember is that Kellan Lutz is not, we repeat, not Ryan Phillippe.

[tarbosh22000 · 3/10 · 30 July 2014]

A mysterious, underground fight promoter known only as Logan (Jackson) stages "Deathgames" in which combatants fight to the death. These bloody mano-a-mano brawls are broadcast over the internet and apparently everyone from office workers in Hong Kong to unlikable and annoying frat boys in America find Logan's product wildly appealing. When one of Logan's workers named Milla (Winter) kidnaps ex-Marine and current paramedic David Lord (Lutz) and forces him to fight for his freedom, at first Lord resists. But then Logan offers the deal that if Lord wins ten deathfights to the death, he can go, and not die. Meanwhile, he's kept in a cell far from the prying eyes of the outside world. It's there he befriends Taiga (Dae Kim), who is in a similar situation as him, but his final match will be against an executioner-type-guy known as Kaden (Messner). Will David Lord be the Lord of the underground internet deathfight circuit? Arena starts off on a bad foot right from the get-go and never recovers. It's almost like an athlete who's so pumped up that he got the ball, he fumbles immediately, and feels so much pressure to recover and make up time, he sabotages himself and can never really keep up. Right in the first few minutes, we're subjected to CGI-based fights, super-irritating frat characters that we only see from one angle as they watch their precious deathfights, and we discover, to our dismay, that our main hero, the guy we're all supposed to get behind, is a man named Kellan Lutz. Or possibly Kip Pardue, we're not really sure. Be it Kip, Kellan or Kaden, whatever, you know how it's said that couples that have been together a long time start to resemble each other, or in longtime human-pet relationships, the two start to look alike? Well, it's pretty clear Mr. Lutz has been admiring the Ryan Phillippe poster over his bed for a bit too long. If there's anyone out there who has seen every Ryan Phillippe movie ever made, it's him. While modeling your acting style and career on Ryan Phillippe might not be the world's best decision, if his goal was to be indistinguishable from him, he achieved it.

The massive vacuum where a scintilla of originality might have lived is one of the more glaring problems here. This is just another stupid, mindless fighting movie that adds nothing to an already-crowded marketplace. It's filled with cliché-ridden dialogue and plot developments. Its lack of originality is even evident in its title. There are already multiple movies that exist called Arena, but apparently that didn't bother anyone involved. It's almost like they were trying to telegraph this movie's superfluity to any potential renters. (God forbid there be buyers). Okay, we don't expect total originality here, or anywhere, really, but honestly. The only dialogue we liked was the fact that the name "David Lord" was said like a thousand times throughout the course of the movie. It became funny, in a Malone or Brakus kind of way. If that's the name you're super-proud of, and not much else, there's a problem.

OK, we know what you're thinking, because we were thinking it too: why in God's name is Samuel L. Jackson in this piece of crud? The only answer we can come up with is that he's a professional actor, and he likes to work. In Arena, he's a Black guy with a large underground command center, just like Keith David in Executive Target (1997). But this movie is just a knockoff of Gamer (2009) and Fatal Combat (1995) in just about every respect, so as noted previously, originality was clearly one of the first things on the executioner's chopping block. Speaking of which, Kaden as the executioner character, rather than be intimidating, is far more reminiscent of early-2000's game show character The Quizmaster from the show Inquisition. You think at any moment he's going to ask David Lord to recite the names of the Great Lakes.

So we covered the childish, derivative dialogue and plot (a character even says "finish him" at one point, clearly ripping off Mortal Kombat), but the movie never explains why they put so much time and effort into getting this random guy, David Lord, to fight. Then they put him in a cell with a bunch of annoying lights and sounds, meant to break down his spirit. It ended up having the same effect on the audience. Then the brainless frat boys use their iPads and iPhones to bet on the fights. And did we mention Kellan is shirtless for about 90% of the movie? But we always try to see the positive, so on that score we applaud the fact that you can actually see most of the fights and there aren't a ton of eye-singing quick-cuts. But on the whole this movie is lame. It would have helped if they got someone good to be the hero, like a Dolph, Scott Adkins or Gary Daniels, but even if they touched Arena with a ten foot fighting pole, it would still be what it essentially is, sadly enough.

The important thing to remember is that Kellan Lutz is not, we repeat, not Ryan Phillippe. Aside from that, Arena embodies almost everything that's bad about modern-day DTV "action" movies.

Excellent B movie

[ten-often · 6/10 · 31 December 2015]

If you want to pass some time watching a pretty good "b" flick about a man fighting an evil bigger than himself in a way only "b" movie heroes can do it, and a bad dude played by Samuel L Jackson in a way only Samuel L Jackson can slam it, with plenty of action, fighting and winner satisfaction, then this is the movie for your free time.

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Pretentious, immoral nonsense with easy pay cheque written all over it

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 2/10 · 27 April 2012]

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

In a futuristic world where people watch and vote for on-line battles to the death, David Lord (Kellan Lutz) is an all star football player who has everything going for him until his beautiful girlfriend is killed in a car accident. With his reason for living gone, he finds himself drunk and desperate in a Mexican bar, where a chance encounter finds him thrust into the world of the online fighting, run by the sadistic Logan (Samuel L. Jackson.) As he fights for survival, Lord hatches a cunning plan to break free and bring down Logan's brutal empire.

Samuel L. Jackson is certainly one of the more curious of the Hollywood A listers. A late starter on the scene, and certainly not one of the young and beautiful crowd now, his name on a poster can still pretty much guarantee a big box office opening weekend with the right publicity and appraisal. He possesses an undeniable charisma and style that still makes him distinctive as an actor and meant he was always destined to make it big one day. Yet, when artistic credibility is not at the top of his agenda, he seems an actor who's willing to sell himself out for an easy pay cheque on whichever piece of limited release/straight to DVD bunkem that comes along, of which category Arena falls into quite easily.

Aiming for a Running Man style clever satire of the way television/online media is heading, Jonah Loop's utterly style over substance offering simply revels in it's own ridiculousness, becoming ever more over the top and far fetched as it goes along and seeming to compensate by way of a load of brutal, nonsensically over the top blood and gore delivered with a minimum of subtlety or taste. Jackson himself tries his best and tries to inject the hopeless corpse with some of his flair and delivery, but he really shouldn't have bothered. Lutz is little more than the average all brawn no charisma clowns Hollywood seems to pass off as actors these days, while the rest of the supporting cast just go through the motions as you can with this sort of thing.

It would have been one thing if Arena had been a beautiful mess of a film. As it is, it's just quite a garish and unpleasant one. *

I over rated to compensate for the hate.

[elijahasrawlie · 10/10 · 27 October 2011]

This film was pure art that most failed to recognize. If you haven't seen the film yet, I encourage you to watch it before seeing the rest my review because realization will further enrich the film for you rather than me telling you this.

The film showed sequences of people watching and making rude comments at the gory fights which I took as a beautiful mirror that was supposed to show that you were doing the same thing. You may have related to the disgusted girl or maybe you were more like the casually watching businessman. Or maybe you didn't relate to anyone and the symbol fell on deaf ears. Irregardless, the stage design was great and the effects complimented it in how the bad guys used a green screen to generate their backdrops. The acting was great and there were few lines. I say this as a positive since the lines used were poetic and thought provoking(except the college students, although I liked how accurate it was to reality). The use of silence was supposed to make you feel disconnected, trapped.

I have so much more good to say, but I don't want it to be too disproportionate to the negative. The story was highly predictable since I knew how it would end from the very beginning. The characters were mostly flat, even the main one I would have trouble considering round.

Overall, a good film. I would consider it a guy movie, but that's my gender stereotyping kicking in. If you hate it, so be it. Don't call it a bad movie though, I've seen some pretty bad movies and this one doesn't even come close to their level. Just don't go into it thinking you're about to see the best movie ever, because it has it's faults. Enjoy.

Strong entry in the genre.

[TdSmth5 · 7/10 · 23 August 2014]

Some guy and his pregnant wife drive somewhere, when a car hits them. The girl dies. Now the guy ends up a drunk in Acapulco. A pretty brunette picks him up. At his hotel room she tasers him and two guys drag him away. He wakes up in a large cell. In the next cell is some Asian guy who tells him that they'll all die. Some guy in an executioner mask appears and tells our guy that he'll have to kill if he wants to live and that his new name is Deathdealer. After being tortured and teasered repeatedly, he's thrown into some green screened room where he's attacked by another fighter. It takes a while but he finally reacts and fights and beats the other guy. But since in real life he's a paramedic, he wants to help his enemy, until the executioner arrives and beheads the looser.

As it turns out this is all part of an underground fighting ring that transmits the fights live over the internet all over the world. The authorities are looking for those responsible to no avail. In charge is Samuel Jackson. He's got two Asian girls running the high tech operation. The pretty brunette turns out to be a recruiter, who finds guys, kidnaps them, and offers them to Sam.

She has high hopes for her guy, while the executioner thinks he has no future. Sam meanwhile offers him a deal, if he wins 10 fights, he earns his freedom. But it's only until he sees the Asian guy's girl die because of his unwillingness of to fight that he finally reacts. He accepts Sam's terms but wants the executioner to be his final opponent. The brunette helps and heals him all along.

He does well in fights, but he knows well that it's unlikely that Sam will keep his word, if it weren't for the help of the girl. We also learn a bit more about his background as the story unravels.

Among underground fighting ring movies, Arena is one of the better ones. And it's mostly thanks to a strong cast. Lutz and Messner do a solid job. Even Jackson, who hasn't done anything resembling decent acting in decades is actually in good shape here. This tongue-in-cheek role is well suited for him. Anything more serious is a challenge for him. But if there's one person responsible for making this movie really enjoyable it's the lovely Katia Winter. She just steals the show. And fortunately, they director doesn't mind showing all her strengths. As a fight movie, Arena doesn't really stand out, except perhaps for the fight with the serial killer. All the fights are against a CGI 300-inspired artificially-colored background and in different settings. Some of the scenes with the viewers are weak. We get some Japanese fans and well and American frat boys who stumbled onto the set after starring in a tooth-whitening commercial. Those scenes are a bit repetitive. Arena offers a lot of story for the genre. Usually movies like these are happy to have some caricature of a villain and some good guy, that's it. Arena does offer a lot more and with a humble budget.

Seriously?...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 9 January 2016]

Okay, well I had never imagined that Samuel L. Jackson would be a movie such as this, but here was. And the reason for why he was, I cannot even begin to fathom. But this 2011 movie was a swing and a wide miss, a stinker if you will.

The abomination that is supposed to resemble a storyline was so shallow and pointless that it hardly even mattered. A guy who loses his wife and unborn son in accident is kidnapped and brought in to fight in an online death game, where he fight against overwhelming odds.

The storyline was so pointless and stupid that the only thing keeping the movie anywhere near afloat is the fight scenes and the overall stupidity of it all as it becomes a farce. And everything is so predictable that even a blind man sees it coming a mile away.

As for the acting in the movie, well let's just say don't get your hopes up too high. The actors and actresses had very little to work with in "Arena", and it reflected on the overall movie.

I bought this movie because Samuel L. Jackson was in it, but I was sorely disappointed. And I must say that this was a blemish on his track record of movies.

In my opinion then I would suggest that you give this 2011 movie a wide berth and pass on it, because it is utterly mindless and not particularly entertaining in any sense.