It's amazing how little of the title activity actually takes place in "Fighting." Channing Tatum plays Sean MacArthur, a garden-variety struggling citizen of the Big Apple who sells whatever anyone will buy and knows how to throw a punch. In formulaic fashion, he meets up with Terrence Howard's Harvey Boarden, who fixes MacArthur up with some illegal, high-bet prize fights. MacArthur intends to use his winnings to help his down-on-her-luck love interest, Zulay Valez (Zulay Henao). Moderately funny at times, "Fighting" meanders through its 105 minutes with little action and a needless and pointless plot.
"Fighting" is a complete rip-off of Jean-Claude Van Damme's "Lionheart" but without the pesky details like a compelling backstory and understandable dialogue. Instead of background, we get daddy issues from MacArthur and what seems to be an attempt at tension between him and his wrestling rival from college, Brian White's Evan Hailey. Other than that - and a few slightly soulful glances between MacArthur and Valez - the story of "Fighting" neither makes, nor tries to make, much in the way of sense.
As for the title activity, the movie seems like it should revolve around violence and, well, "fighting." Unfortunately, the action of the film is rather typical and not particularly extensive. Fairly well choreographed and accurate in its depictions, there is nothing special about the fights, albeit the camera work does do a good job of capturing the intensity. Most of the time, you have a pretty good idea of who is throwing the punch and who is taking it.
In a lot of ways, "Fighting" should really be called "Mumbling." Everyone mumbles and stumbles through the film. The dialogue mumbles, the delivery mumbles, and the plot mumbles. Shuffling its way across the floor, the movie itself would lose most fights it gets into, unsure of itself and so poorly edited that it never has the dexterity, mobility or energy to bounce around the ring, stinging like a mosquito and floating like a spider.
"Fighting" and its cast fail to live up to expectations. Tatum is not a warrior bad boy, rather just a guy who wins for the sole reason that the plot says he does. Valez is given the support of a funny, old grandmother and cute, young daughter to nag and look wide-eyed at MacArthur, respectively. The biggest disappointment of all is Oscar nominee Terrence Howard. His character, Harvey Boarden, never really talks in a straight line. He is, in fact, the mumble king of the film - his lips move a lot and sound comes out, but he says next to nothing. Quirky and weird, we do not understand Boarden and, really, we don't want to.
"Fighting" is not extraordinarily bad - it just isn't really any good. Prototypical of street-fighting films and the like, the action is tolerable and the acting isn't up to par. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and sometimes you need to know there are fights not worth fighting. Some fights should just be walked away from. "Fighting" is that fight.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
