Drama

Redbelt

- There's always a way out. You just have to find it.

Is there room for principle in Los Angeles? Mike Terry teaches jujitsu and barely makes ends meet. His Brazilian wife, whose family promotes fights, wants to see Mike in the ring making money, but to him competition is degrading. A woman sideswipes Mike's car and then, after an odd sequence of events, shoots out the studio's window. Later that evening, Mike rescues an action movie star in a fistfight at a bar. In return, the actor befriends Mike, gives him a gift, offers him work on his newest film, and introduces Mike's wife to his own - the women initiate business dealings. Then, things go sour all at once, Mike's debts mount, and going into the ring may be his only option.

Release Date : 2008-04-07

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Sony Pictures Classics

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Mike Terry

Original Name : Chiwetel Ejiofor

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chet Frank

Original Name : Tim Allen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sondra Terry

Original Name : Alice Braga

Gender : Female

Character Name : Snowflake

Original Name : Jose Pablo Cantillo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dylan Flynn

Original Name : Randy Couture

Gender : Male

Character Name : Marty Brown

Original Name : Ricky Jay

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jerry Weiss

Original Name : Joe Mantegna

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joe Collins

Original Name : Max Martini

Gender : Male

Character Name : Laura Black

Original Name : Emily Mortimer

Gender : Female

Character Name : Richard

Original Name : David Paymer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Zena Frank

Original Name : Rebecca Pidgeon

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bruno Silva

Original Name : Rodrigo Santoro

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lucy Weiss

Original Name : Jennifer Grey

Gender : Female

Character Name : Eddie Bialy

Original Name : Vincent Guastaferro

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ricardo Silva

Original Name : John Machado

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lawyer

Original Name : Matt Malloy

Gender : Male

Character Name : George

Original Name : Ray Mancini

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gini Collins

Original Name : Cathy Cahlin Ryan

Gender : Female

Character Name : Academy Fighter

Original Name : Matt Cable

Gender : Male

Character Name : Singer in Bar

Original Name : Luciana Souza

Gender : Female

Character Name : The Magician

Original Name : Cyril Takayama

Gender : Male

Character Name : Billy the Bartender

Original Name : Scott Barry

Gender : Male

Character Name : Eduardo

Original Name : Ricardo Wilke

Gender : Male

Character Name : Monica

Original Name : Caroline de Souza Correa

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bar Patron

Original Name : Jack Wallace

Gender : Male

Character Name : Guayabera Shirt Man

Original Name : Jake Johnson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Knife Fighter in Bar

Original Name : Dennis Keiffer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Officer

Original Name : Rob Reinis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Detective

Original Name : Dominic Hoffman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chauffeur

Original Name : Michael Kenner

Gender : Male

Character Name : Desk Sergeant

Original Name : Mike Genovese

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sammy

Original Name : Bob Jennings

Gender : Male

Character Name : Richard's Bodyguard

Original Name : Kimko

Gender : Male

Character Name : Murphy

Original Name : Linda Kimbrough

Gender : Male

Character Name : Knife Fighter on Set

Original Name : Steve DeCastro

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hollywood Producer

Original Name : Ed O'Neill

Gender : Male

Character Name : Taketa Morisaki

Original Name : Enson Inoue

Gender : Male

Character Name : Paralegal

Original Name : Allison Karman

Gender : Female

Character Name : Official at Arena

Original Name : Damon Herriman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Romero

Original Name : Renato Magno

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sanchez

Original Name : Rico Chiapparelli

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sanchez's Handler

Original Name : Martin Desideriom

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sanchez's Cornerman

Original Name : Frank Trigg

Gender : Male

Character Name : Romero's Handler

Original Name : Gilbert Gomez

Gender : Male

Character Name : Japanese Interviewer

Original Name : Kei Hirayama

Gender : Male

Character Name : Himself

Original Name : Mike Goldberg

Gender : Male

Character Name : Himself

Original Name : Jean Jacques Machado

Gender : Male

Character Name : Himself

Original Name : Josh Rafferty

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ring Announcer

Original Name : J.J. Johnston

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ring Girl

Original Name : Christina Grance

Gender : Female

Character Name : Referee

Original Name : Galen Tong

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fight Commissioner

Original Name : Tony Mamet

Gender : Male

Character Name : Non-Smoking Attendant

Original Name : Justin Fair

Gender : Male

Character Name : Official Security Guard in Blazer

Original Name : Christopher Kaldor

Gender : Male

Character Name : Himself

Original Name : Scott Ferrall

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bruno's Henchman

Original Name : Simon Rhee

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bruno's Henchman

Original Name : Troy Gilbert

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Professor

Original Name : Dan Inosanto

Gender : Male

Character Name : Old Stuntman

Original Name : Gene LeBell

Gender : Male

Reviews

tmdb28039023

@tmdb28039023

2022-09-03

Redbelt may not be, though it’s still pretty good, David Mamet’s best, but it is for the most part an interesting sample of his work in that it showcases some of his most finely honed traits and, more importantly, it is proof that the true mark of a gifted filmmaker is the ability to elevate any genre he chooses to use as raw material (his Spartan is another good example, as is Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire); in this case what we have is a deconstructed martial arts film, complete with a Big Tournament at the end – but the events leading up to it, and how the tournament itself unfolds, are handled with Mamet’s characteristic ear for realistic dialogue, attention to detail, and patience; the necessary patience to allow the plot to develop as a natural and organic succession of characters’ choices and their corresponding consequences, as opposed to, well, a plot. As a result we are spared such clichéd sights as the Training Montage, for instance, or the Romantic Interest. The hero is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teacher Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), whose mantra is “There is no situation that you cannot turn to your advantage.” In keeping with this, Mamet weaves a script where there are no wasted movements; as in a Rube Goldberg machine, every disparate element – idealistic sensei, shallow Hollywood star, troubled police officer, traumatized female lawyer, long-suffering wife, crooked club owners, shady businessmen, etc., etc., etc. – is interconnected with the others and all serve the story just like all roads lead to Rome. Even something so apparently random as some dude performing sleight of hand in bar in exchange for drinks will eventually fall into place and fit in with rest as neatly as a key going into a lock. Only the ending seems like it was taken straight out of a much inferior movie (think something like a Kickboxer or a Never Back Down), and represents somewhat of an anomaly among Mamet’s filmography which, mostly for better but sometimes for worse, is nothing if not consistent – consider 1988’s Things Change, whose deus ex machina not only had a better set-up but was much easier to swallow because the movie was, after all, a comedy. But here the fanciful climax feels tacked on, especially after the effort made by both the filmmaker and his expert cast to invest the story with a palpable sense of realism. To go out of his way like this, Mamet clearly cared a great deal about the main character – and so will most people who watch the movie, though not necessarily, at least in my case, at the expense of inner logic.