4 out of 5

Director: David Mamet

Ah, ya had me until the end. Redbelt – character study? Nah. Redbelt is an old-school man-against-the-wall noir tossed into the new world of MMA. Mamet describes it as a samurai / noir mix, but I feel like were just talking two different shades of the same style of film. Regardless, its not all that complicated. In fact, its as uncomplicated as its lead, Mike Terry, played awesomely by Chiwetel Ejiofor, whos running a respected but not profitable jujitsu dojo, and places keeping ones mind clear and doing whats right above all else. Hes a hero. That he gets wrapped up in a scheme where some Hollywood types steal some of his training ideas and trick him out of payment by potentially tying him to a suicide and assault case… well, thats just bad luck. The skill in bringing it together is Mamet, who drops his tick-tock dialogue and piece-by-piece plotting into the mix, letting us know how competent Terry is but not actually showing us much beyond bits and pieces of fights… really building up to something. And you relate to how he gets tied up in things, because its so simple. This is what Mamet excels at, really – despite forcing people to stumble through stage-patter sometimes (…Ricky Jay, please repeat every concluding line twice…) – he makes these complicated situations seem possible, normal, and unavoidable. That being said, Mamets apparently a jujitsu fan, so the focus is a little off plot this time, to the films benefit, actually, as it allows for the quiet to build… until the end, when that lack of plot dusts off its gi and stands up, unraveling a little too cheesy and simply. But oh well. You kept me gripped to the screen until then, so kudos.