 One should not watch “A Fighting Man” and expect anything close to the “Rocky” films or “Raging Bull”. But if you enjoy boxing films, Damian Lee’s “A Fighting Man” is a film worth checking out.
Image courtesy of © 2013 Fighting Man Films, Inc All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: A Fighting Man
RELEASE OF FILM: 2014
DURATION: 88 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: 2:35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
RATED: R (For Bloody Sports Images and Language and Sexual References)
RELEASED: June 17, 2014
Directed and Written by Damian Lee
Producer: Gary Howsam, Bill Marks
Executive Producer: Jeff Sackman
Production Design: Anthony Cowley
Art Direction by Peter Mihaichuk
Set Decoration by Jaro Dick
Costume Design by Ton Pascal
Starring:
Dominic Purcell as Sailor O’Connor
Izaak Smith as King
Famke Janssen as Diane Schuler
Jenessa Grant as Peg
James Caan
Kim Coates
Louis Gosset Jr.
Michael Ironside
Emma Campbell as Joyce
Sheila McCarthy as Sailor’s Mother
Haunted by a tragic past, undefeated, washed up boxer Sailor O’Connor (Dominic Purcell) is a broken man. When a fluke opportunity arises to step back in the ring, he takes it. His opponent is younger and faster, but with the support of his old fight team (Michael Ironside and James Caan), Sailor pushes for this one last fight. Not knowing when to throw in the towel, Sailor must face his personal demons or die trying to stay on his feet throughout a bloody, brutal beating in the ring. Also starring Louis Gossett Jr., Kim Coates with Famke Janssen and a special appearance by Freddie Roach.
Actor Dominic Purcell (“Prison Break”, “Equilibrium”, “Blade: Trinity”) is back with a new action film titled ” A Fighting Man” but instead of the action films that he tends to be known for, his latest film is portraying the role of Sailor O’Connor, a broken man and a boxer who wants one more fight in the ring.
The film written by B-film director Damian Lee (“Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe”, “A Dark Truth”, “King of Sorrow”) wrote and directed the boxing film which would star well-known talents such as James Caan (“The Godfather”, “Elf”, “Las Vegas”), Kim Coates (“Sons of Anarchy”, “Black Hawk Down”, “Resident Evil: Afterlife”, “Silent Hill”), Michael Ironside (“Total Recall”, “Top Gun”, “Starship Troopers”), Lou Gossett Jr. (“The Officer and a Gentleman”, “Enemy Mine”, “Iron Eagle”), Famke Janssen (“X-Men” films, “GoldenEye”) and young actor Izaak Smith (“Totally Amp’d”, “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief”, “Mirror Mirror”).
The film would revolve around two fighters with a past.
Sailor O’Connor (portrayed by Dominic Purcell) is a broken man and a boxer who had a great life, until it was taken away from him. And with his mother (portrayed by Sheila McCarthy) dying from cancer and months to live, Sailor wants to make sure she goes to Ireland one last time before she dies, but how will he raise the money for her trip?
King (portrayed by Izaak Smith) is a young fighter who used to be a troublemaker. But with his young wife, Peg (portrayed by Jenessa Grant) pregnant, King wants to make sure that unlike his family upbringing, he takes care of his family and knows the only way to do that is to show that he can fight in a real matchup.
When a brash promoter tries to put together the old fighter Sailor vs. the young fighter King in a fight, with Sailor O’Connor backed by his ring team (which includes actors James Caan and Michael Ironside) who try to convince the old boxer that he doesn’t have anything to prove anymore in the ring, Sailor is determined in fighting one more fight.
While King wants the one matchup to prove he is the real thing but m0st importantly, wanting to take care of his family. So, he depends on the tutelage of his trainer (portrayed by Louis Gosset Jr.).
As the two men fight in their biggest boxing matchup ever, watching in the crowd is Diane Schuler (portrayed by Fanke Janssen) but what is her connection to Sailor and why does he despise her so much?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“A Fighting Man” is presented in 2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen and presented in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai 5.1 Dolby Digital. Picture quality is very good on DVD with the dialogue crystal clear.
Subtitles are in English, English SDH, Chinese Traditional, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
There are no special features included.
Having watched a few of Dominic Purcell’s previous films, I have to say that “A Fighting Man” is one of his better films and the storyline of an aging boxer with a tragic past and watching it unveil throughout the film was rather entertaining with a few speed bumps but for the most part, a B-film that manages to have an engaging story and also featuring a well-known cast.
The positive of “A Fighting Man” is how the film captures both primary characters, Sailor as the aging boxer that will never know how he can forgive a person that has done him wrong. While Tiger is a young man who came from the wrong side of the streets and wants to make it right, but the only way he knows how to make things right is through boxing. But does he have what it takes to be a professional boxer? If so, he must take on Sailor in a fight that captures pain in the ring, but also pain in one’s personal life.
But with the film featuring quite a number of stars, how is it a B-film? For one, it’s the utilization of its characters and how these characters can often interrupt the pacing of the film. You have James Caan as a trailer who is trying to search for answers of why Sailor is fighting, Louis Gossett Jr. playing a stubborn trainer not sure if he wants to invest his time in a young boxer. Then you have Kim Coates as a priest who tries to support his friend Sailor and Famke Jannsen’s character showing slowly her past and how it corresponds to the tragic past of Sailor O’Connor.
Other problems that I had with the film was the utilization of the shady promoter, who interrupts the boxing match which took away from the film and truthfully, his scene was not even needed in the latter stages of the film. You also have an ending that tries to be family/lovey dovey in a non-“Rocky” (“Adrian” scene) type of way and for a film that tries to feature so much pain and brutality, you just don’t want to see too many happy and joyful things considering the film had dealt with quite a bit of sadness.
A film like “Rocky” had its happy endings but when two people were rocked to the core in a boxing match, you want to see that “Rocky” like moment when the boxer is so messed up by being hit so much, barely able to stand but manages to let a few words come out. For “A Fighting Man”, both men are beaten up so badly that you feel that any normal actions, happy dramatic moments just doesn’t feel right.
But with that being said, for what it’s worth, I was entertained by the film.
As for the DVD, it’s a barebones release without any special features. While picture quality was good as one can expect on DVD and featuring clear audio, I just wished that the film would have included a director’s commentary, making of featurette or something.
Overall, one should not watch “A Fighting Man” and expect anything close to the “Rocky” films or “Raging Bull”. But if you enjoy boxing films, Damian Lee’s “A Fighting Man” is a film worth checking out.
