Tapped Out (2014)

You won't be disappointed!

Wonderful character development!

People are voting emotionally.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Some things are never explained and not every character motivation has to be explained I reckon (whether it's a villain or our main hero doing stuff). The "story" itself is pretty straightforward though and it doesn't take a lot of guessing to know where this is heading and what will happen in the course of it.Michael Biehn somehow got involved in it and he does a decent job being guardian. Even when he doesn't seem consistent in what he's saying and what he's doing, he still pulls it off. But more important for anyone watching is, if the action is good. I would say it's OK/decent enough. It's not over the top or anything great, but it serves its purpose and will entertain enough if you're willing to oversee the flaws ...

Direct-to-video MMA films have always been an easy target. While MMA has long since captured the mainstream, more traditional karate and kickboxing flicks have metaphorically beaten the small screen cage fighter to the ground and kicked him as he lay. TAPPED OUT shows that the subgenre is finally getting to its feet, ready to be taken seriously. Despite the film's occasionally ridiculous narrative decisions and other shortcomings, I am genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. This is a serious coming-of-age story with a martial arts theme, and I definitely recommend it.The story: A maladjusted teenager (Cody Hackman) working off his community service at a local karate dojo embarks on a quest to confront the murderer of his parents (Krzysztof Soszynski).There are many reasons that this movie might have failed, not limited to its curious casting and status as a KARATE KID knockoff, but it perseveres. At first glance, Cody Hackman appears to be your average prettyboy but turns out to be a real-life competitor who delivers an strong performance as a steadily-improving martial artist. His sensei is played, of all people, by old Michael Biehn, and Biehn somehow manages to be 100% convincing as an instructor. The screenplay the two of them act out is also to its film's credit: the journey of the main character is refreshingly nuanced, with significant victories and setbacks throughout that are not directly tied to the buildup of the ending. Different forces pull him in different directions in a lifelike manner, and even when the movie resorts to moments of clichéd stupidity, these are at least grounded in logic. Stupid decisions are addressed in an almost self-aware manner by the script, and traditional martial arts are not downplayed.Like most movies marketed as MMA flicks, there is some disappointment in the false advertising of TAPPED OUT: UFC megastars Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida are prominently featured on the DVD cover, but are in the film for only ten minutes. Additionally, the ground & pound fight scenes are not about to outdo the likes of NINJA II's. With that said, the brawls are still a solid highlight of the film. Admirably foregoing slow motion and featuring decent editing, the dozen fights are at worst bearable and at best downright exciting. The choreography is far from ground-breaking – there's some intricate grappling, but that's it – yet the pace and dramatic components of the fights are admirable. I found myself actually holding my breath during some of the later matches simply because the filmmakers did such a good job of making them such close contests between characters I had invested in.There is no guarantee that traditional fight fans will enjoy this as much as me, and even I teetered on whether to give this a lower rating simply because it wouldn't matter to me if I never saw Cody Hackman in a martial arts movie again. While it may not have rewatch value, this action-drama is worth at least a single viewing and will probably do the trick for general martial arts devotees and MMA nuts alike. Rent it!

I like MMA movies. It gives people a view in the world off MMA and that is always good.This is a movie that might give teenager a Wooo effect. But for everyone over 25 it gives the exact opposite of the deeper message MMA movies normally have.I am a big fan off MMA and MMA is ever growing. It grows because it provides the audience a learning curve. It tells them more about the athletic part of the process and the skill part of the process. This movie does not do that. One of the first fighting scenes shows the "typically" evil actor beating some people up. Normally in every professional sporting event it would have stopped after the first knockout punch. I understand that the movie needs to build the "evil" story but there are other ways to do that. So some people say they enjoy the fight scenes but if you know a bit about MMA you know that the fights scenes are really bad. To go back to the beginning. Teenagers might find this extremely cool and want to go and train for themselves. But every parent out there will think MMA is a brutal sport conducted by animals and this movie empowers that vision. This movie should have been more about skills and the characters should have been produced more powerful.

Upon attending the Premiere of Tapped Out I was pleasantly surprised as to the level of intensity the movie provided and the story line behind it. I wasn't sure what to expect but came away with a smile on my face. At times during the movie I was on the edge of my seat others times laughing along with the whole audience at some of the comedic overtones. It was a great mix. The fight scenes were hard hitting and all the MMA stars in the movie did a fantastic job. Krzysztof and Hackman excelled in there roles. After talking with folks after the movie it was apparent that this team has what it takes to make an offering to a World wide audienceI am sure this movie will be well received and I recommend it to all