Predictable and clichéd...but reasonably exciting

Rating: 6/10 (8 December 2015)

Predictable and clichéd...but reasonably exciting.
A former Marine returns to his home town and starts training for a major Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament. His father is his trainer. Meanwhile, and unbeknownst to the two of them, his estranged brother, a teacher, is training for the same tournament, making for a possible meeting between them in the tournament. Meanwhile, both brothers have issues with their father...
Not bad, but quite overrated. Uses just about every boxing cliché in the book and the plot is quite predictable. The relationship issues theme felt very well-worn and lame, and even quite token.
Performances are okay, but nothing special. Nick Nolte got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his performance as the father, but I don't feel it was deserved. His role was very secondary (as per my "token" comment) and he pretty much just had to mumble and ramble his way through.
The thing that makes the movie watchable are the fight scenes. These are quite exciting and tense (this comes from somebody who knows close to nothing about MMA). The second half of the movie is definitely better than the first...