MovieChat Forums > Underground Discussion > God Awful

God Awful

posted 17 years ago by NeilRamjee
10 replies | jump to latest

Having just watched this film - aside from the nice mis en scene and visual trickery employed by the director... this film is embarassing.

Taking itself quite seriously, the film concerns a betting ring of 'executives' who bet on an underground fight tournament made up of 'everyday' people. That happen to be quite proficient in fighting.
That IS as far as the plot extends. There's barely ANY characterisation or depth to anyone in this film.

The scenes and fight sequences become formulaic, use the same visual techniques and it all becomes just a bit of 'blood for blood's sake' (the spray from the mouth when hit is even in there too!).
You'd get far more entertainment from watching your local deliquents fight outside of your Co-Op store.

As a Brit, I'm embarassed this film is even out there. The acting is shoddy to say the least (Danny-John Jules should be ashamed of this). The fighters I believe have no previous 'acting' experiences or abilities, but have been employed purely based on their aesthetically pleasing looks and a competency in martial arts/combat of some form.

Once again, the Brits have done themselves proud by ilustrating to the world that they can't pull off another genre.

[–] Xcalat3 17 years ago

this is indeed a disgustingly bad movie

I Worship The Goddess Amber Tamblyn

[–] sinclairzxspectrum-1 17 years ago

cobblers! the film didn't need a plot!

i thought the film was awesome... and tons more believable than the contender!

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] teenbaggie1 17 years ago

BMFSTONECOLD, I think your comments are unfairly harsh. Sure, some of the actors may not produce Olivier award winning performances but that is not what the movie is all about. Underground, I believe, is about providing a realistic film of brutal, raw fighting and it achieves exactly that.

When sitting down to watch a film like Underground you expect to see some impressive fight sequences which is exactly what you get. You are right, this film doesn’t have a great amount of depth but nor does it pretend to do so. What it clearly sets out to do, it does fantastically well. Watching this film I felt exhilarated and truly excited.

I for one am a fan of this film. It doesn’t hide behind pretensions or expensive computer graphics as so many films do this day. It is an impressively shot film, catering perfectly for its audiences (mainly 18-35 year old males).

My DVD is already in the post...

[–] Hyper-Spider 16 years ago

I totally agree with Teenbaggie,I consider this movie a recarnation of all the Great Martial Art Fighting,I would like ask u a question Bamfstonecold did u really expect that ending......Guess u wouldn't know it in a million years!!

(Thanks God For This Great Movie)Never thought I would find 1 made these days!

[–] jackdawson45 16 years ago

The trouble i have with it is, as said earlier there is no character development, and as you say that isn't the focus of a film such as this. However, to say the fight sequences are realistic is just plain wrong.

No one, ever, ever has been spun round three times in the air by a kick to the face, it just doesn't happen. What this film portrays is stylised, acrobatic show fighting, not brutal real fights.

If thats what your after watch some UFC or Pride, they have real brutal fights. And if your after character development watch some 'The ultimate fighter' (less good) fights with lots of background on the fighters and their personalities.

[–] deftoms311 16 years ago

This is probably the worst film i have ever seen

[–] Capoerasta-86 14 years ago

Watched this the other night, thought it was terrible. I lost all hope for the film being any good at all after seeing the model get knocked out after doing a round off flash kick! What the hell was he thinking? I could ignore the lack of plot or depth in characters but if the fights are as serious as they're made out to be then why would you do such a pointless move other than to show off. I can do a round off flash but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop in the middle of a fight and do one. Very disappointing

Living the dream!

[–] destroyerwod 11 years ago

What made bloodsport succesfull? Character developement for the hero and making his "sidekicks" lovable... You rooted for these guys, and when Jackson got hit in the head by Chung Lee, you cared and wanted Dux to kick the *beep* out of him...

For the rest it was basic fighting tournament movie. Did i wanted longer fights for the fighters? Yes, but that dosen't mean i don't want character developement.

One movie that did fine of balancing it all is UNDISPUTED 3 : Redemption. Sure you can always say a couple of these characters where establish in the last movie sure... but they made it as cool as you would root for the previous movie bad guy.. so its something itself... And its not a cult classic favorite in the martial art departement.

This movie is just a bunch of fights stuck together with no stories and no character developement... Sure the fights are good, in movie standards good, no realistic, but its not enough to make a good movie...

The movie is not God Awfull for sure, its just "booooaaaf" and its disapointing for that...

Alice is the worst character of all time, she need to die in the last movie. Chris/Jill are RE !!!