The Worst Film Ever

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I honestly don't know where to start with this one. It took me two tries to get through it, as the first 20 minutes nearly put me to sleep (on second thought, maybe I shouldn't watch these so late at night...). Whatever, in any case the filmmakers seemed to have a few things they wanted to say with PIT FIGHTER, but much of the "message" (if one can call it that) is blunted by not really explaining anything and massive imbalance in the narrative threads that would have fleshed out exactly what we were supposed to divine from this poorly edited mess of an action film. It's also bookended by a couple of Bible quotes that have something to do with the scenes they immediately precede/follow, but little else (in my estimation).The basic plot is that a mysterious man who nearly died in a shootout and has memory loss gets taken under the wing of a low level criminal in the Mexican mafia (Steven Bauer, SCARFACE). He discovers/remembers a talent for fighting, and so he starts participating in underground kickboxing matches for money. All the while he has memories of a woman he loved and thought dead, but things change when he sees her one night after a fight.As messy and cheap as the film is, it's not all for nothing. There is a decent amount of kickboxing action, and brutal action at that. There was one scene with a guy's eyeball hanging out of his skull, which was kind of cool. I also thought that the overall pacing of the fight sequences was adequate so that the overly ponderous narrative never got too much to take. The best action scene is probably the final shootout between the titular "fighter" and what I'm guessing was the Mexican mafia. You get to see him mow through all of these guys, often using their own weapons against them, and then resorting to a sword that he brought with him. The gunplay and sword-fighting was a nice changeup from the brawling that came before it.Where the film misses is about everywhere else. They tried to make the main character, Jack (as we learn late into the film), into some religious nut. He allows opponents to "show off" by beating him up before knocking them out. He donates his winnings to a local priest (from Ireland? The ethnic makeup of the cast was head-scratching at times. Was everyone except the mafia an immigrant or living there temporarily?). He also has visions of the Virgin Mary that aren't explained (except kind of at the end where the actual person he's been seeing is named). It was all rather weird, and the last minute revelations/memories he has about his forgotten past smacked of narrative convenience, i.e., to add an extra wrinkle to the final conflict.Another issue is the major subplot regarding Jack's girlfriend(?) Marianne, who turns out to be some university professor-turned-revolutionary stealing from the mafia in order to fund antigovernment rebels (or something like that). The story of an amnesiac who remembers his past and then confronts it would have been sufficient, in my opinion. But, I guess the filmmakers thought since it was set in a Central American country they might as well throw in some half-baked subplot about the very real political and social turmoil in the region...without any nuance, of course.As for the other elements, the acting was generally poor. The best actor was Steven Bauer (of SCARFACE fame), but even it seemed like he was phoning it in. The oddest of the cast had to have been the "doctor" who patches Jack up at the beginning. He had these weird mannerisms and speech pattern that was really off-putting. It also didn't help that his dialogue didn't seem based in reality (I know the filmmakers weren't medical experts, but come on, they could have researched a little bit). The cinematography was decent for a low-budget movie, with the occasional shot that looked like it could be part of a TV documentary, but the washed-out look was kind of depressing and just emphasized how cheap-looking everything was. Camera-work was OK, I guess, but nothing special.Overall, I would say that only those with the lowest of standards would possibly get any enjoyment out of this. It had the potential to be laughably bad, but the tone and look would make it hard to have fun with a drinking game, were someone inclined to make one out of this. Basically, this wasn't worth my time and it probably won't be worth yours either.

"Pit Fighter" is a gritty and bloody action movie.Jack (Dominiquie Vandenberg) wakes from a coma after a bullet was put into his brain. All he wants is revenge. But first he needs to climb up the ranks of a corrupt system and that means he has to fight.If you want realistic and well-choreographed fights this is the movie for you. Every move is bone-crunching. One guy gets his eye knocked out! Vandenberg puts in a gruff performance as the anti-hero. Steven Bauer plays his friend and manager. Bauer is always good and he has some interesting lines like: "Well, you ever wanna know what God thinks about money, you look at those to whom he gives it to." The movie is fast-paced and well-directed. Jesse Johnson put a lot of energy and effort into this and it paid off.The climax is amazing in its scope. Jack fights everybody with only a sword and his fists."Pit Fighter" is a hidden gem that's worth uncovering.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

After reading some of the other reviews posted on this website I was not so sure what to expect of this movie, but I was blown away. I don't know if I'm looking at a different version of the film, but the ending I saw on the Fox Canadian DVD I purchased, had a very effective shoot-out at the end, not only does the lead character get shot during the gun- fight, but he is riddled with gunfire at the end, just blasted to pieces, I totally wasn't expecting it. The guy sacrificed himself to let the revolutionary couple get away . For a presumably low budget action movie this is some lofty idealism, I guess this could be why some of the user reviews are mixed. The moral might be, that it is wiser to be less high minded with your story if you are going to title it "Pit Fighter." Back to the my review, the film certainly delivers on the action front, the fighting seems authentic enough, violent, bloody. I really liked the shoot out by the trucks, all in all the acting is solid. The lead is believable, kinda scary, and Steven Bauer, well, this guy really delivers in this movie. where has he been? The guy is awesome, just riveting, I was moved by what was obviously a very personal performance. I almost feel like apologizing to the Dutch reviewer, who can't spell very well, but this film was very entertaining, the Dutch version must have been very different to mine, because i just don't see how he formed his opinion. I am recommending this film and not just to fight fans, of which I'm not, but to film fans, this is a film with a lot more going for it than the violent fight scenes. One of the other reviewer's mentions "Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia" , high praise indeed-- this film is similar in tone to that one, and that film has it's critics. Less informed perhaps, less worldly wise, but more important than the pulpy title prepares you for.

There is so much to this movie it's difficult to know where to begin. Being a martial arts freak, I had been following this film through its production stages and I was not disappointed with the end result.The story is a tale of one mans redemption through violence. It is here where the fun begins – the fight scenes are kept to a more real approach opposed to going for the wire work ballet found in a huge back catalogue of hong kong flicks and many recent Hollywood outings. Favouring a more UFC/ K-1 approach, the fights have a gritty edge and the hero played by an enigmatic 'Dominique Vandenberg' who demonstrates a legit martial arts prowess! Vandenberg plays it very cool as Jack Severino/ El Yanqui and Steven Bauer puts in a very respectable performance as his manager and friend. The shoot-outs are wonderfully brutal, special mention to the end blaze of glory which is an almost tongue in cheek effigy to the high grossing action films of the 80s and a few classic samurai flicks.The tone of the movie is set by a distinct quote."Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." And this is exactly what Director 'Jesse Johnson' does with a great passion for action. On a reported budget of $500,000.00 (aka nowt!) he has deftly crafted a intriguing tale of brotherhood, vendetta and redemption through violence.