My Review Of The Chiwetel Ejiofar/Tim Allen Film "Redbelt"

[JamesG]

I thought Redbelt (2008) was very well done and it was great to see Tim Allen on the big screen again.

The title comes from the highest rank in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. When you get to be a 7th degree black belt you get a belt that is both red and black. When you reach 9th degree you get a red belt.


Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofar) operates a dojo in Los Angeles. He stays out of fight competitions because he feels that competition is weak and he teaches his students traditional Japanese values regarding fighting.

One night as he is training one of his students a jeep runs into Mike's car outside. The woman in the jeep, Laura (Emily Mortimer), tries to apologize in the dojo and says she was running late to the pharmacy. She sees a gun down on a bench and gets intimidated by the two "tough guys" in the place.

She runs for the gun but doesn't know how to use it as they both tell her to calm down. She doesn't know that the student who owns the gun is in the LAPD. The gun accidentally goes off and the window of the dojo gets destroyed. Mike convinces the student to let her go and he tells her not to worry about the damages.




Mike Terry's wife is the manager of the dojo and she tells him that they don't have the money to pay for the damages. Mike and one of his students goes to his brother's bar (who happens to be a fight promoter) to ask for money. In the bar he sees a man getting beat up and Mike Terry defends the man. The man is actor Chet Frank (Tim Allen) and Mike doesn't know he defended someone important.

Chet Frank is grateful to Mike and as a result he wants his help on his new film. Mike has struggles with this because of his beliefs to never go into the spotlight and abandon his students and principles. His wife convinces him saying that they need the funding so Mike agrees.

Little does Mike know that Chet is out to con him and take his ideas without any money; because he never officially signed Mike on the film. Mike is now lost within his own beliefs and is afraid that he will now have to close his dojo and that his wife will now leave him. Against his will he has no choice but to enter competition fighting.




As a side story, Mike Terry befriends the woman who ran into his car. Laura tells Mike that she is a rape victim which explained her scared reaction before around being alone with men.

She doesn't understand martial arts and wants to learn from Mike on how to conquer her fears. Mike explains that you want to have to learn for the right reasons and that revenge is never the answer.

Laura gets mad with Mike that he is not telling her what she wants to hear and that he has no idea what it is like. Mike explains that he does know and that the best way of fighting is to not let this consume you and to live to your fullest through discipline. One of his most famous lines in Redbelt is when he tells Laura that in his dojo there are "only fighters here".




For a martial arts flick Redbelt was great and it is definitely not your standard fight film. It's about upholding your beliefs against all odds.

My rank will be 7/10.