Although this film is getting some acclaim i have to disagree strongly. this is easily one of mamet's worst films by far. the plot is convoluted, the ending absolutely ridiculous. although the cast is great and most of the fight scenes at least realistic, the film trods along awkwardly. there are predictable moments too but that characteristic crackle that mamet has for dialogue and plot is missing in this one altogether. ricky jay's character, in particular, seems to have been written in solely to deliver a few mamet-isms. I can't recommend it.

David Mamets movie deals with fight between morality and it;s opposite. The character of Mike Terry is very well acted. His unshakeable ethics are a little over the top. I don't think people realize that the film is an homage to "On the Waterfront". Brando's tragic but ultimately champion character is named Terry O'Malley. Coming out of the film I thought that I've seen it's issues in many films before. If the plot did not have such gaping holes I would have rated it higher. The bad guys are all carictatures.

This film was well done, not a surprise since it was written and directed by the great Chicago playwright David Mamet. So many films have loose ends that are not tied up, and flaws in structure that doom most films. Not so here. This film, about the martial art Jiu Jitsiu, is all about honor. There's the cop whose gun falls into the wrong hands. The cop covers up to preserve the honor of a friend's martial arts business, and he pays the price. Later, this friend, the owner of the martial arts studio, needs to fight for money. He finds out the martial arts fights are fixed. He wants to expose a respected fighter as a cheat, and opts out of a fight and also the prize money. Out of the ring, however, he fights this guy. TV cameras capture it all. His honor stays intact. This film got applause after it ended. Can't remember the last time that happened.

this move was horrible. the story was not written well, the actors sucked but the main actor. the story was dumb. then ending is dumb. i cant believe hollywood would play this movie in theaters. Hollywood passes up on alot of great stories, and because people got money they get to put there pease of $hit movies in theaters. Dumb movie, Dumb director.

Based on the trailers, I had been expecting a lot more fighting. If you are expecting a sort of generic VanDamm kick butt kind of film, you wont find it here. What you have instead is a great drama about UFC-style fighting with good characterization and storyline. The film was quite engrossing, consistently kept to its themes, and is of Director/Writer Mamet's most successful accomplishments. Some performances were underwhelming and unplausible, but the lead actors were all great.