Having starred in films such as Step-Up and Stop-Loss, Channing Tatum is one of the most promising up and coming stars of my generation. However, the untimely release of his newest film, Fighting, will most likely halt his progression as it tops She's the Man for Tatum's worst film of his very young career.
However, I can't place all the blame on Tatum as the film was actually shot sometime during 2007 and shelved for a later release. And with the growing hype and upcoming release of G.I. Joe, the studio looked to capitalize on their talent. Sadly, they will make more money than expected, and only Tatum and co-star Terrence Howard will have to live with the ramifications.
Speaking of Howard, I can't say enough about his annoying and uncharismatic performance as underground prizefighting agent Harvey Boarden. The accent, mannerisms and dialogue were confusing from the get-go, making the Oscar-nominated actor resemble that of a veteran with little to no explanation. But sadly, the bad performance and dialogue didn't stay with Howard. Instead, it carried over to Luis Guzman and Zulay Henao, two key supporting actors who lost both credibility and respect with their participation in this film.
Thankfully, Tatum was able to liven up the crowd with his charm and bad-boy persona. Set to have come from the country, Tatum's Shawn MacArthur has a few skeletons in his closet. And as the story continues on its predestined path, and the secrets are revealed one by one, it is Tatum's feuding temper that helps keep audiences somewhat intregued.
Yet nothing could have compensated for the dead and unimaginative script that served as the basis for this disappointing film. Full of stale, tired characters and cliche events, the ending slowly approached with little to no surprise. The story's progression, though dreadfully slow as it was, provided no signs of creativity or intuitiveness. And for a film that is called 'Fighting', the four to five minutes of actual on-screen fighting was a killer faux in terms of marketing and product delivery.
In the end, Fighting contained an engaging premise; one that should have resulted in a fast-paced action flick. However, with scarce fighting and a calculable story, nothing ever materializes in terms of content or entertainment. Blame it on the writers or the actors themselves, but this film suffered a knock-out in Round 1.
