Review of Redbelt (2008) by Zanele J — 11 Jan 2013

One thing distinct about Redbelt is it's pacing, the movie does not pick up or slow down, one Apollonian in character. Mike (Chiwetell Ejiofor) is a generous business man, but his generosity leaves him broke but happy, He is compassion itself.

One evening, in a bar, a brawl involving Chet Frank leaves him a hero but kicks off a chain of events predestined to get him to fight in a UFC tournament. This has been rigged from the beginning, he would not willingly compete, but a group of mobster like see to it that he does.

The chain of events are way too elaborate for them to even seem plausible, but one needs to suspend belief for the story to work. As for the scenes, they are constructed to impress and delight the senses.

A carefully hand picked cast is a intriguing to watch, Mike commands attention and Chet Frank played by Tim Allen adds credibility, he is used to trap Mike, Jose Carlo Contillo as the loyal Snowflake, his loyalty lends to Mike's eminence as a leader. Emily Mortimer plays a frail Laura Black, an edgy rape victim who practices law, she is the one who kicks off the domino effect that reverberates throughout the movie, there is a fantastic knife fight scenes where Laura and Mike are fighting in a dojo, this leads to some catharsis for Laura. Quiet an impacting scene.

Mike realizes that even the competition is not as noble as presented in the media, his original ideas are stolen, it is a disgusting sham to him and they brought in the master from Brazil to add dignity to the tournament. Mike starts rejecting the whole idea and fights for the honor of the sport and the master.

Hauntingly beautiful motion picture.

Highly recommended.