Redbelt was best summed up by critic Chris Farnsworth for E! Online as “…a thinking man’s Rocky…” and I don’t think it can be summed up any better than that.

Directed by David Mamet, Redbelt tells the story of Mike Terry, a Jiu-Jitsu teacher who has stayed out of the Prize Fighting Circuit to live an honorable life running his self defense studio. An accident between a distraught lawyer and an off duty police officer at Terry’s self-defense studio sets off a series of events introducing him to a world of promoters and a movie star. Faced with this, in order to pay of his debts and regain his honor, Terry is forced to compete in the fighting circuit.

Redbelt is a martial arts movie that centers on the world of Mixed Martial Arts and ultimate fighting. Even though it is technically a martial arts movie, there is very little violence. However, when there are scenes of Terry fighting they are very well done and exciting. Redbelt is mostly a dialogue driven movie that works very well because of the excellent performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor and the supporting cast which includes Tim Allen, Joe Mantegna, Emily Mortimer, and Alice Braga. Chiwetel Ejiofor really stands out in this movie as the lead character, Terry; he gives an excellent performance that is what I consider to be the best performance of his career. With this role, he shows he has potential to take on more leading roles and continue to give outstanding performances in future films.

The acting is great, but the story and script are just as good as the acting if not better. The story has a few subplots to it that all connect to the larger picture. For some people, it may be hard to follow, but for me I didn’t have a problem because the pacing is perfect; it kept my interest with the excellent performances and the sharp dialogue, which is the main part of the movie since it is a dialogue driven film.

Redbelt came out on DVD August 26th and didn’t get a lot of advertising, which is a shame because it deserves a lot more attention. I recommend that people rent it if they are remotely interested, because they will be surprised at how great it is. You won’t regret it.