Brawler (2011)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The acting in this movie is really good.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The thing about "Brawler" is this, it desperately wants to be an indie fight movie about two Irish brothers and MMA... But it fails. The actors aren't Irish, the chicks aren't that good looking and New Orleans doesn't make the same energetic backdrop that Boston or New York does in all the other movies that are ultimately just like it, but far superior in execution.Out of the two lead actors you have nothing to like, one is a self righteous jerk that spends the first quarter of the film judging his unruly brother. Who by the way, is a skinny jean wearing pansy with a faux hawk. It's so hard to take any of what you're seeing seriously that by the time it does get to the fights you're drenched, marinated in the silliness of the experience and your jaded eyes can't help but see them for what they are, cinematic trash, just like the rest of the movie.If you want to see a good fight movie about two brothers with "issues", check out Warrior, if you've already seen it, watch it again before you waste your time with this garbage. Just because something is "indie" doesn't mean it's great and defending it or acting like it's something it's not just makes you a fool with low standards.These are of course just my opinions, if they smack to you as being overly critical then ignore them and torture yourself by sitting all the way through this pile of drek.

Clearly BigDick and Bobb are internet trolls that are wasting screen space, and they more than likely haven't even seen this film. I'd suggest their "reviews" be reported, and their "opinions" ignored.I'd also suggest seeing this film for the extremely impressive MMA fighting and stunts alone, which were in fact performed by the actors themselves. Quite a commitment to a role, I'd say. Brian Batt makes a significant contribution to the film's already high talent base -- always great to see him.In addition, the cinematography is outstanding, the acting solid (Marc Senter is actually brilliant, as usual), and you'll certainly never think of mint juleps in the same way again...

This film is absolutely awful! The production quality is really crappy, the acting is terrible, the dialogue is tedious. It is generally all round poor and there is nothing about it at all that should make you waste 1 second of your life watching this film. I gave up about 30 minutes in just because I wanted to give it a chance, I wanted to turn it off after 10.However Bob Dobbs review is brilliant and his recommendation to watch The Battery is the only decent thing that Brawler has added to my life. The Battery is equally low budget and obviously isn't a blockbuster or high quality film. However it is really entertaining and interesting to watch. And compared to Brawler it is like a multi-Oscar winning film.

There is a lot of talk these days about how Hollywood has lost its edge, how it makes films by committee, using proved formulas (sequels) for world audiences. All this is true. But this does not mean you should go running to the nearest indie production and pretend that, just because it is indie, it is anti-Hollywood, and therefore worthy of praise. There is a reason indie is indie. Ninety nine times out of 100, it is horrible, wretched, and just plain wrong. Ninety nine times out of 100, indie should be second choice, as in, would you rather have a root canal or watch.... There are exceptions. Look at The Battery, not merely a great indie, but arguably one of the best films of the current decade. The brilliant Jeremy Gardner (talking about The Battery here, don't lose me) wrote a script so tight it squeaks, directed it so well that even the scenery is interesting, and plays the lead so well the film has already won several audience awards at festivals. The Battery is the 1 in 100 that breaks the mold. BRAWLER is the other 99%, rolled into one. Brawler typifies indie junk. Weak script, weak direction, and actors who -- you just know -- have a day job that probably involves making change. Brawler uses "film lipstick" wherever possible (loud noises, an overloud sound track, and fast cutting) to hide what it really is. But nothing can hide what it really is. It is indie. Ugh.