Nothing new here

Rating: 6/10 (23 July 2009)

A teen is new in town, goes to high school and ends up having to fight bare-fisted. He finds a guy who helps him improve his fighting technique before the big showdown with the school bully. And that's about all she wrote for this low-budget teen drama, which liberally borrows from THE KARATE KID, THREE O'CLOCK HIGH and even FIGHT CLUB. Sean Farris, who you may recognize from several other youth-oriented flicks, plays the new kid in town and Dimoin. Hounsou is his trainer. If nothing else, Farris is a solid young actor who is likely to go on to better things. Honsou, who has appeared in much better films, appears to be slumming here. Hey, it's a paycheck!