Title: American Fighter
Rating: R
Director: Shaun Piccinino
Starring: Bryan Craig, Tommy Flanagan, Sean Patrick Flannery
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

What is it: A desperate teenager is forced into the dangerous world of underground fighting to win enough money to save his ailing mother. He finds out what he’s made of in the face of these violent hungry competitors.

What we think: A decent fighting film. The performances were definitely tolerable and the storyline was decent even if a little predictable at times. The pacing was good and the entire film was filled with action. It kind of reminded me of the 2008 Action movie Never Back Down in certain ways. I was a little unsure as to what decade this movie was supposed to take place given some of the characters dressed in 80’s clothing. As far as production value is concerned, the cinematography was well done as was the lighting. However, I was personally not crazy about the sound setup for this film. I am really not a big fan of a film when the dialogue comes out specifically in one stereo and the music and sound effects come out of the other. This sound setup, especially when not blended together well enough, makes it sound as if the audio was done by a complete amateur. It drove me absolutely crazy and not in a good way. Had the sound been better, the quality of the film itself would have been improved.

Our grade: B+, So this film was overall a pretty good film despite having some obvious flaws. The storyline was interesting enough to keep your attention and the performances were pretty believable for the most part. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what some of these actors do in the future! A huge thank you to Fantasia Fest 2019 for allowing us to see the film.