Customer Reviews

Fighter [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's one of the best movies that I have ever seen that combines martial arts and western action!!! Very well told and directed!!!

This flick is the perfect example of a movie that's so bad...it's actually good!

The writing, directing, & the acting are just awful, awful, awful!!! One reviewer said that he's seen high-school drama skits that had better acting...and he's right!

The thing is, it's very obvious that the stars in this thing were very aware of the script's shortcomings. Marc Singer ("V", "The Beastmaster") actually seems to be enjoying himself in his grunting cave-man-like role of the Austrian General Ziegfield Von Trotta. (What a name!) The other actors, Brolin, Ziering, Palance, & Gibb, actors who have proven that they actually can act (in other shows, that is) seem to be having fun on this grade-z straight-to-video release. The only one who doesn't seem to be enjoying herself is Ashley Laurence, the love interest. She had guest-starred on an episode of "Cheers" a decade-and-a-half ago & so I suspect that she may be a "serious" actress. Well, that's the last thing we need in a movie like this!

The premise of the story, in the hands of more competent & serious writers, directors, & producers, would have produced an excellent martial-arts/western fusion film. The story follows the adventures of a former French officer (played by Olivier Gruner, from "Nemesis" & "Angel Town") who leaves Mexico at the end of the war against Maximillian (which coincided with our own Civil War) in search of an Austrian officer (Singer) who murdered his best friend. Along the way, he defends a small ranch from a ruthless railroad man. (Shades of "Shane.") He is also adept at la savate, the French martial-art of kick-boxing. This is a good plot with an unusual, but true to historical-fact premise.

Unfortunately, every cliche' from both westerns (especially "Spaghetti Westerns") & martial-arts films (the "Enter The Dragon" dangerous tournament-types) is what makes up this mess! The murder of Gruner's friend by Singer was taken directly from "Once Upon A Time In The West" & even the soundtrack sounds like a Sergio Leone directed epic. I have no problem with the martial-arts (after all, savate was standard training for French officers at this time), but the "tournament" (a bare-knuckle boxing match) has all sorts of fighters from all over the world competing. Not only do we have boxers & wrestlers, but a kung-fu man (okay, there were lots of Chinese working the railroads & the gold-fields of the West at this time) & a capoerista from Brazil! (Now, how did HE get there?) This all takes place in a VERY SMALL TOWN. Why on Earth would anyone hold a tournament like this in a little, tiny town like that? They should've set it in San Francisco or Denver. At least those cities in the West were actually big enough to sponsor these "champions" to come over.

To make matters worse, this movie is very, very FUNNY. (Or sad, depending on your outlook. I liked Marc Singer in "V", a thought-provoking anti-fascist science-fiction thriller on tv. But here, he just grunts & growls through the role. But then again, that's how the part of "the general" was written.)

So why give it 5 stars instead of 1? As the old show-biz adage goes, "You can make your audiences mad, you can make them sad, you can make them laugh. Just don't bore them!"

This movie is NOT boring. It's just VERY stupid!

I recieved the dvd and it was fine except it will not play in my blue-ray player. I can however play it on my computer. I wish I would have known about the counrty code before I bought it.

"The Fighter" is a significant film for director Isaac Florentine (Undisputed II - Last Man Standing) for several reasons. Most obviously, it's the first film of his to star a certified action hero (Olivier Gruner, Nemesis) - a trait that he would continue for practically all of his later movies. Secondly, it's the only film of his to tell a historical tale: granted, the story itself is complete nonsense and I'm not even sure if Olivier Gruner's character ever existed, but it reflects the fact that the USA had just come out of the Civil War and that the French were indeed just south of the border at the time. Lastly and most importantly, it's the first real "Florentine film" ever made, a far as structure, plot quirks, martial arts, and feeling goes. Is it his best? - no. But that doesn't mean you have to pass it up.

The story: Joseph Charlegrand (Gruner) is an officer in the French army questing the US in search of his best friend. Upon meeting a farming pair of brother and sister (Ian Ziering, "Beverly Hills 90210" and Ashley Laurence, Hellraiser) oppressed by a wealthy Benedict (Lee Ermey, Full Metal Jacket), he uses his proficiency in the French martial art Savate to fight for their safety.

The cast also includes Michael Palance as Benedict's sadistic henchman and Marc Singer (The Beastmaster) as Charlegrand's rival, murderer of his buddy, and final opponent...but more on the fighting in a second. The acting is surprisingly strong for this kind of film: if we are to forgive Gruner his Van Damme-isms when it comes to dramatic performances, most everybody puts in a solid (if slightly hammy) effort that sees no need for fudged lines or forced emotion. Ashley Laurence especially stands out...but she's nearly countered by Singer, who had the misfortune of playing a villain of German origin, meaning you can count on his dialogue alone getting on your nerves.

Disappointingly, even though Olivier Gruner has been given cart blanche to show off his impressive kicking ability, the individual fights are not very exciting. With the exception of the hulking Marc Singer, Gruner has no decent opponents to go toe-to-toe with, so he beats up everybody in short order without being able to show off his full proficiency in French kick-fighting (by the way, he also seems to heavily incorporate judo or aikido). Late in the movie, Charlegrand enters a toughman tournament and gets to fight Erik Betts ("WMAC Masters"), but even though Betts gets to jump around and pretend he knows capoeira, it's mostly a dud. The showdown between Gruner and Singer borders on being outright silly - definitely so, if you understand German and therefore realize that their dialogue is complete nonsense.

Heavy on the melodramatics, "Savate" is big on spaghetti western clichés and standoffs, villainous statements by the bad guys, and general themes and motifs that have been lifted straight from old Reagan-wannabe films. Then it kicks into martial arts antics. This aspect may make the film tough to swallow for anybody who isn't a fan of "Walker, Texas Ranger", but helps keep the film from ever becoming dull, as far as I'm concerned. The lack of credible one-on-one fights puts a damper on the total package, but the heavy-handed, `screw Hollywood' focus on absurdity that has become Florentine's trademark makes it worth watching for casual b-movie fans, as well as fans of Gruner looking for something more than a c-grade film to see their hero kick butt in.

Okay, so Ian Zierig doesn't give this movie a whole lot ofrespectability, but where else can you see the Nemesis (OlivierGruner) battle it out with the Beastmaster (Marc Singer)? That says it all right there.

The plot's cheesy and has been used before, the acting does not approach Shakespearian, but the fight sequences with Gruner are a joy to watch, and it'll hold your interest. I'd watch it again.

It's a unique western movie of his kind but well directed. The story of a pretty good french fighter played by Olivier Gruner who's traveling from tournment to tournment to find a german guy played by Marc Singer for revenge. He ends up helping a little town from a bunch of bad guys while he's waiting for the next tournment and his revenge.

I caught the movie on cable one night and thought it wasn't as bad as the previous reviewer wrote. Yes, the plot borrows very heavily from 'Shane', and there's nothing new. Also, the sound effect was very dated and, in some places, hard to hear. The redeeming aspect was the chemistry between Olivier Gruner and Ashley Laurence. One could feel the growing attraction between the French soldier and the recently widowed young woman, and it was sweetly done, leading to the inevitable conclusion.

I really don't know what to say... I have never, ever, in my life, seen a worse movie than this. Seriously, I'm watching it now... It's almost over, and my mouth is just hanging open due to the utter crappiness of this movie. It's beyond description. Think of the worse movie you've ever seen. Now imagine that movie was the greatest movie ever written and will ever be written. Even then, you'd have no conception of how horrible this movie is.

The acting is wooden. My imitations of bad acting are better than this acting. Every scene is stale. I've seen them all before and laughed at them in the past. As was said, this movie makes Van Dam movies seem Oscar worthy. The absolute horrific acting and laughable plot are only amplified by the cheesey and overly dramatic soundtrack.

That being said... everyone should have to watch this movie. Just to give you a view of the bottom of film making. This will replace your "*insert insanely better film (any film)* was the worse movie I've ever seen."

It's going to be difficult keeping a straight face while I write this, but I'll give it a shot (chuckle). Don't ask me why I sought out this film, I haven't much of a clue. Maybe it was because I liked the old tv series "Kung Fu" and thought this might have an interesting spin (ROTFL). After all, I recognized many of the names here (Brolin, Singer, and Lee). Obviously not from the best talent pool in Hollywood, but Lee was very convincing as the drill sargeant in Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket", and has done fairly good work in other movies. Mark Singer wasn't too awful in some of his flicks either. Brolin? Uh, well, he's James Brolin (luckily, he has very few scenes).

Ahhhh, but on to this movie (ha). It is, without doubt, the most untentionally funny movie I've seen in many a year. I can't wait to give it to my son. He will be laughing for days! (I'm sure he will pass it around to all of his friends...it'll leave `em in stitches!...and hopeful, they won't return it;-). I knew I was in for a "treat" the very first moment this film...oops...movie (film indicates quality) came on. I dare anyone not to double over watching our `hero' ride (try to ride) his horse as the opening credits scroll on the screen. Every scene thereafter (yes, EVERY scene), presented the viewer with very old cliches, one after another after another. There was never a scene that hasn't been done a hundred times before and a million times better.... Correction! There were a few scenes that nobody in their right mind would EVER do!

What makes this flick so funny is the atrocious acting (I've seen grade school skits that had better acting) along with the horrible screenplay (I've heard better dialogue in silent movies!). Folks, you just won't believe the lines these act...uh...'people' spoke...and in front of God and everyone. And as bad as the `stars' were, the beautiful dark-haired girl in the flimsy top (don't all western women wear these things?), deserved an award for using the same non-descript look whether she was happy, sad, fearful, or excited. (I don't think the director could believe it either, as he kept panning back to her expression, I think to see if it had changed--it didn't). At least she didn't make any pretenses, she looked lost all the way through this flick. And what is with the evil gunslinger? If anything can produce laughing fits, it's this guy's "evil eye". Unless you see it, you won't believe it. Hell, I've seen it, and I still don't believe it!

Oh my, how do I rate such a movie? Well, if I thought for one moment that they did this tongue-in-cheek mess on purpose, I'd rate it much higher. After all, it WAS pretty funny in most places, and down right gut-busting in others. However, I can find no evidence of such intelligence, not with the actors, the producers, and ESPECIALLY not the director (other than old 8mm home movies, I suspect that this is his first attempt to direct). Between 1 and 10, "The Fighter" gets a marginal 1. I honestly thought that as expensive as movies are to film, I would never see the likes of this one ever again. I also thought that I would never see a worse movie than "Christopher Columbus -- The Discovery". But I now know that I was wrong.