Redbelt – 7/10

 

I guess sometimes it’s nice to see a film that you know nothing about beforehand. I only knew that it was somehow related to martial arts and that it had Tim Allen in it as well as Chiwetel Ejiofor (Dirty Pretty Things, American Gangster, Children of Men). I was slightly intrigued to see how the movie would mold Tim Allen into a kung fu star, but was only disappointed later by his simple and extremely small role. I mean who doesn’t want to see Tim Allen fighting like a martial arts superstar? Don’t let that be your reason for seeing this though… you will be let down. I don’t think he throws so much as a karate chop through the duration of this film, and his total screen time adds up to little more than half the length of an episode of Home Improvement.

But do let the following things be your reasons for seeing this…

The plot was anything but what I thought. The progression of events in this film was for the most part unrelated to martial arts, though everything is strung together by the beliefs and standards that the sport is partly responsible for in the lead character, played by Ejiofor. I was surprised to see quite a few other faces in the film that I recognized, namely Emily Mortimer, who was really quite swell in her mixed up lawyer role.

The ending was probably the most memorable moment of the film, though the whole thing had a nice vibe to it, though depressing. The last shot, and the silence that is forced on the viewer for the last few minutes of the film, really makes an impact. I was thinking about it for quite a while after the credits ended. When the final shot cut to black, it couldn’t have been better timing in my opinion.

So I think it’s worth seeing for the performances and somewhat unusual plot with slightly odd and somewhat sad characters working their way into a complex series of events, leading to the aforementioned well-constructed conclusion.

~ by annemarieparade on May 21, 2008.