5 MMA-themed movies you need to see

#2 Redbelt (2008)

Released shortly after Never Back Down, 2008’s Redbelt couldn’t be much further away from that movie if it tried, despite both sharing the MMA theme.

Written and directed by famed screenwriter David Mamet, while Redbelt is a movie that involves MMA, it also involves a hell of a lot more, which is probably why it wasn’t a massive success at movie theatres, despite gaining solid reviews from most of its critics.

Essentially, the movie’s plot is hugely convoluted, to say the least. Centred around Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), it tells a story of corruption, greed and honour and involves a great number of characters and side characters whose motives aren’t explained all that well, such as Terry’s Brazilian wife Sondra (Alice Braga) and her MMA champion brothers Bruno (Rodrigo Santoro) and Ricardo (real-life BJJ whiz John Machado); attorney Laura (Emily Mortimer) and ageing Hollwood star Chet (Tim Allen).

To properly explain the plot is almost impossible, but it all comes to a head with Terry clashing with Ricardo in a backstage brawl during a big MMA tournament in which Ricardo is scheduled to face Japanese champion Taketa Morisaki (PRIDE legend Enson Inoue), and ends with Terry defeating the Brazilian to claim the red belt of the title, presented by elderly MMA expert ‘The Professor’.

So is Redbelt worth watching? As a movie, perhaps – although you’ll have to concentrate heavily in contrast to Never Back Down. In terms of the fight scenes though, probably not. Despite having Inoue, Machado and Randy Couture (who plays a bit-part) to help with choreography, the fights are filmed in such a way that it’s hard to really tell whether they look the part or not. In the end, it’s an MMA-themed movie that arguably tries to be too smart for its own good.