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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 7498
Released: August 26, 2008 |
| Our Price: $3.75 |
| Used Price: $1.79 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 26-AUG-2008
Media Type: DVD
Description of Redbelt:
Like David Mamet's previous films, Redbelt's narrative slowly exposes the well-guarded secrets of systems shrouded in mystique and conspiracy, this time at martial-arts academies and on Hollywood film and television sets. Reminiscent of Rocky, Redbelt is an unapologetically moralistic tale of an impoverished, inner city Jiu Jitsu instructor whose idealism is an affront to those who seek to sink him. Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), unknowingly affiliated with the wealthy Brazilian family who rigs televised MMA matches, naively rescues actor Chet Frank (Tim Allen) from being mutilated in a bar brawl, but isn't able to link Frank's sketchy relations until Terry's life is endangered. Fated to assist Terry is attorney Laura Black (Emily Mortimer), who conveniently stumbles into Terry's Jiu Jitsu academy early in the film's opening. With an impossibly mandarin plot, Redbelt is packed with improbable coincidences and confusing, maze-like dead-ends, but the sheer brainpower required to sleuth along keeps one riveted throughout. Plus, it is hard not to be thrilled by ample, accurately enacted Jiu Jitsu fight scenes. Mamet's actors deliver deadpan, poker-faced dialogue to comedic effect, especially Ricky Jay, who plays an MMA star's corrupt manager. Allen, also, is surprisingly suited to portraying an untouchable, overly serious Hollywood film star. Even Redbelt's subplots revolve around fighting: while Frank shoots a war film, Terry hashes it out with his wife who urges him to earn some cash. In the end, one wonders if Terry's uphill struggle isn't representative of the director's attempt to sift through convoluted narrative threads for an archetypal hero legend that is sparklingly simple. --Trinie Dalton
Redbelt Reviews:
Ronin becomes Master 
2009-12-01 - I do not really need to get deep into story detail.
Others have already covered that information.
Its about a guy who is martial artist who has to solve a money issue.
Words really cannot express the depth of this movie.
I did not even see commercials about it.
I saw the preview at another movie and figured it would be interesting.
Received more than I bargained for.
It was a story of bushido, of the comitatus, of the warrior code in general.
And a modern day warrior's struggle to maintain his code in the face
of seemingly insurmountable odds.
Any student of martial arts as a lifestyle rather than for specific reasons more than likely
will take away something from this film.
The phrase "there is always a way out." is the cliche for the movie.
And eventually it gets proven.
One of the most logical messages of hope than can be given,
knowledge is the key and defeat comes because of lack thereof.
There were a couple of awesome characters in the film and some not so great.
Overall in my opinion it was a masterpiece and a must own.
Great to watch after one of those stressful weeks when life kicks you in the butt.
A surprise 
2009-11-27 - I finally watched this movie after having it saved on my DVR for about two weeks. I must say, I absolutely loved it. When the Professor was there holding the RedBelt and they hugged, my black heart melted. Mike Terry was just a wonderful character. Outstanding cast altogether. I'm just sorry I waited so long to watch it.
Another excellent work by David Mamet
2009-10-25 - A quick note, primarily just sticking in another 5-star review for this film.
This is a great movie. It is certainly not for everyone- if you are looking for a fighting movie or a martial arts movie you should just forget it. There is some fighting and of course the movie deals very much with the idea of "the warrior", but it is encased in so much dialog and drama that someone looking for a good action flick is really going to be disappointed. Unfortunately, that's what's keeping this movie from getting a higher rating from customers on Amazon--this is a serious and very intellectual film that is not going to appeal to your average popcorn-in-hand viewer, and some of those are giving bad reviews to this film that is quite simply too much for them to appreciate.
There are so many wonderful aspects to this movie, but I'll just mention a few. The lead actor, Mr. Ejiofor is absolutely mesmerizing. Every supporting role is wonderful. The dialog, as usual for Mr. Mamet, cracks like a whip, and the entire movie is filled with an incredible tension and energy. Don't miss the extras. There's an illuminating interview with Mr. Mamet as well as quite a few other excellent pieces.
Mamet does it again
2009-10-11 - You can't really lose with my 3 DAVID'S RULE: Almost any film by Cronenberg, Lynch and Mamet
is competent at a minimum and brilliant at its best. Redbelt is actually one of my favourite
Mamet films because it uses less convention and more novelty in acting, editing and script.
Thankfully, Mamet dispenses with his crisp overlapping dialogue (this is, fortunately, not
one of Mamet's Pinteresque scripts; you can actually follow the dialogue). Chiwetel Ejiofor
is wonderful in this film; possibly his best performance to date. Robert Elswit is the
Cinematographer (need I say more ?) so the visual aspect of the film is first-rate.
All-in-all a very good film.
"If you want my way, prepare for poverty"
2009-10-08 - [...]
It is striking to me in the movie how we see the themes of poverty, greed and honour covered. This was not a movie in praise of MMA or Jiu Jitsu. In fact I saw it as a bucket of cold water thrown into the face of modern day competitive MMA -- That's right Dana White. Mr. White, a former boxing promoter is the Marty Brown in this movie... a modern day Don King. I remember going to Dojos in the 80's. Martial Arts were 50% about self defense, 25% about exercise/working out and 25% about self control, honour, reflection, and spiritual equillibrium. Now it seems most of them have lost the last 25% (with the possible exception of Aikido). This 25% has been replaced with Sport/Money.
Its reflective of the nation as a whole. What's interesting about the movie is that Mike Terry's character seems dead broke, but he's got a strong spirit, more so than the wealthy businessmen in the movie who are desperate for money more than he is. What happened in this country to the Marine motto: "Death before Dishonour"? Ever since Clinton said "I lied to you" on national TV in the late 90's, no one trusts the government, nor our elected officials any more. So much corruption -- Abramahoff, Ney, Stevens, Delay, Blagojevich, Spitzer, Clinton, Libbey, Cheney, etc etc... You can tell in the movie that Terry's character had no taste for borrowing money .. as his wife did from the loan shark.
The corruptibility of money.. another theme. Why is it that we all chase it so badly nowadays. Maybe the elder generation can answer better. My hunch is that since the US Dollar was forced under Nixon to abandon the Gold Standard in the 70's, we have seen so much devaluation, that everyone is terrified of running out of cash. We are all hustling like mad men to make a buck and stay afloat. Look at Gold and Oil.. they tell the story well. I know, the story really goes back to 1913 with the start of the Fed.
This movie also speaks to many who follow MMA regarding why certain styles are not seen in MMA. "Oh if that guy is so good why doesn't he get in the ring". As Terry's character states, its because there are too many rules. Gloves, restarts from the bottom/clinch, time/rounds, all the 30 or so Unified Rules. Its all designed to 1) protect the fighters so they can fulfill their 6 fight 2 yr contracts and 2) create an exciting match! I am happy to see that some of the Martial Arts legends were able to get roles and make some money in this movie. Unlike alot of the other critics, who bash the movie, what do you expect for $7-10m budget? That's peanuts for today's $70m budget films (what Stalone's The Expendables is targeting).
Other observations? I actually liked the ending. There's always an escape. Yes, we know this. As Hadrat Ali (AS) stated: "No problem can withstand the onslaught of sustained thought." Mike Terry understood this as an incremental process of "improving the position". Of not giving up.
I didn't like the death of the blond cop - Max Martini's character, but it speaks an ode to another theme of the movie most people probably didn't get: Reverence and Respect. Respect for the leader, the teacher, yes, the Sensei. Yes, it goes to the fact in the internet era where most people think they can get a Phd from Apple's iTunes U, that real knowledge is passed down from teacher to student, live and in person. Joe Collins had this reverence for Mike Terry. Terry had it for the Professor, enough to go back in in the stadium and risk his life to expose the fraud.
Its usually reserved for people who have excellent scruples and principles -- not just from the Pulpit or the lectern, but in daily life. THIS REQUIRES SACRIFICE. JFK, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Paul Wellstone, these people are martyrs for a reason. The movie reminds me a bit in this respect of ending in the "The Mission". Mike was one of those people in the movie. My point is that today we seem bereft of public leaders who also share this quality - willing to take a bullet for the Cause. This is why the movie had a long wind up to the finale.. character development for Mike Terry. You know a man from his words and his actions. That takes time to witness.
Hopefully America can return to an era espoused in the 2007 Documentary, "In the Shadow of the Moon" where we parade around the world after having landed on the Moon and the foreign crowds yell to the American Astronauts, "We did it!". An era when the whole world looked up to the USA, instead of fearing our 30,000lb MOP bombs that ABC news just started to predict we may use against Iran. We must turn this Ship now before we end up like the Romans. Go to the Collesium in Rome and look at the wall to see the passing of the Roman Empire. You can judge a nation by the way in which it entertains itself. MMA is rapidly growing in popularity. I wonder what this means for us.
