My Review

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2008)

Young, rebellious Jake Tyler (Sean Farris) and his mother and younger brother move from Iowa (or Idaho, can't remember) to Orlando so his brother can get a start in the competitive world of tennis.
The first day he draws attention from the most popular girl, Baja (Amber Heard), and a d-bag of her boyfriend Ryan (Cam Gigandet), who apparently rules the school with iron fists of fury.
Jake quickly befriends Max (Evan Peters), who introduces him to the world of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Baja invites Jake to a party, where Jake is cornered by Ryan and forced to fight after Ryan insulted his father (whom passed away in a car accident that Jake holds himself responsible for). Jake gets the crap kicked out of him, and his ego is just as bruised as his body, and plans retaliation.
Max brings him to his trainer, Jean (Djimon Hounsou), who begins to work with Jake not just physically but mentally as well, helping him focus his pent up anger towards something more useful.
All of which leads to a final showdown between Jake and Ryan...I wonder who is going to win? Alright, I will be sarcastic a bit and say that the ending is none too surprising. It's a typical fight movie, but this one you really don't have someone to root for. Sure, you can support Jake, but he's pretty much a complete d-bag throughout 95% of the film, and the final small bit of the film where he suddenly becomes the un-caped crusader of the poor just doesn't make you want to root for him.
However, I will say that I found the film quite enjoyable, despite being two hours long, it didn't feel like it. And I felt that it was a complete movie, and it wasn't really lacking in anything. It wasn't the movie's fault that it had a predictable ending, 95% of sports movies have that required ending. Don't hold the ending against an otherwise practically flawless movie.