I was disappointed with "Fighting." It failed as far as plausibility is concerned. I cannot believe that in New York city there are no holds bared, winner take all, bare knuckle boxing matches. I cannot believe that a man who does not train regularly can fight as well as the protagonist does. Also, a man with the athletic talent the protagonist has could make more money legally and more safely as a boxer or a competitor in the mixed martial arts competitions. The emotional chemistry between the protagonist, his manager, and his girl friend did not make me really care about them, although I liked the relaxed personality and soft voice of the manager.
So what I want to know is, is it better than Never Back Down, because they seem to share elements? Now there's a movie that was shit all over and I liked it (not saying it's good).
"Never Back Down" was the best martial arts movie I have ever seen. I liked it because it was more realistic than any other martial arts movie I have ever seen. In most martial arts movies one never sees the protagonist train. This suggests that a martial art is something one learns and then knows. The reality is that a martial art is a physical skill one needs to practice, or it will not be effective. Also, other martial arts movies exaggerate what one can do with martial arts techniques. Unfortunately, "Never Back Down" lacked the emotional chemistry between the protagonist and his instructor that "The Karate Kid" had.
