Normally, I’m not a huge fan of modern martial arts movies.  Jean Claude, Steven, and Dolph have never been known for their inspiring acting skills nor have their movies contained interesting plots or gripping dialogue.  My problem is that I like marital arts and I like watching people beating other people up, but I have an attention span.  And taste.  

So, it was with surprise and delight that I found a modern martial arts movie written and directed by David Freakin’ Mamet.  (That’s his new legal name, by the way.) Redbelt also has real actors (shocking, I know).  The movie focuses on Mike Terry, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, an honorable but poor jiujitsu black belt and instructor.  Mike is split between chasing the high life and remaining loyal to his code and dojo.  On one side, he can chase fame and fortune through a drunk and womanizing actor, an actually brilliant Tim Allen, and a shady fight promoter, the always fun Ricky Jay.  On the other side, he struggles to pay back his debts to one of his students (a cop, played by Max Martini) and a high strung stranger (played by Emily Mortimer). Sound confusing?  It is — the movie plays out through a series of coincidences that lead to serious consequences. In that way, it seems both highly orchestrated and totally natural. 

Of course, the two best things about this movie are the fights and the dialogue.  Ejiofor is completely convincing as a fighter, and he lends a sense of gravitas to the internal struggles that his character faces.  And then, there’s the dialogue. Mamet knows how to write,  and his dialogue again sounds both natural and scripted, in only the way Mamet dialogue can. While the movie doesn’t contain many memorable lines, I left the theater thinking “Always Be Closing.”