Good.

Rating: 7/10 (9 August 2012)

When I first saw this in theaters I was trying to hold back my tears, mainly because I went to see this with guy friends and didn't want to look like a wimp. I couldn't believe how touched I was by this film and that it was creating this reaction from me. Upon second viewing, I reevaluated the film and must say that it is a good movie but not as great or moving as the first time I saw it.
The movie has two protagonists (both brother), each with their justification for entering a MMA tournament and each with personal demons caused by their father. The movie has enough character depth to slip some of the clichés past us, as we're no longer trying to nitpick at the logic of the movie but we're looking for personal triumph of the characters.
The only thing that annoyed me was the almost claustrophobic style in which the film was shot. Too many close ups and too much shallow depth of field for my personal taste. I was waiting for the directer to do something gutsy and film a conversation in just a long shot or something. Still I guess that the shooting style compliments the writing and genre, it adds a layer of grittiness or underdog mentality that is a part of the sports drama genre. It also adds a little weight to the demons that the characters carry around through the film. It also had that annoying wobbly camera style that is so synonymous with reality TV shows and unfortunately becoming more common in film. It wanted to add a layer of realism or something but just the close up style would of sufficed.
Still this is a good film if you're a fan of underdog sports dramas. It puts a little twist to a very common story, all fans could ask for, to bring something new to a genre.