equazcion

(2012-04-26 11:44:58)

You've already seen it

Men are forced to fight to the death for an eager internet audience,but the game's most recent recruit may pose a threat to the system withhis unyielding spirit.It's a clichГѓВ© to even say this sounds familiar, so I won't do that ;)This might've had a chance at being good if it had been made prior toGladiator, Running Man, Gamer, Rollerball, etc. etc. etc. (as then, atleast, the idea behind the whole thing would've been something new).This doesn't seem to make much of an attempt at serving up anythingsignificantly fresh though, except perhaps the effects technology to upthe bar slightly on gore.The topic is the public's tendency to get hooked on sadistic voyeurism,and the people who use that tendency to make money/power. Samuel L.Jackson plays the man taking advantage, and although Samuel is usuallygreat, and I would SO like to say "even Samuel's awesomeness couldn'tsave this film," I actually can't even say that. I found hisperformance here to be somewhat sub-Samuel. His heart just didn't seemin it, and for that I can not blame him too much, as the material justisn't worthy of his efforts.I'm not sure what exactly got Mr. Jackson stuck with this job, but Ihave a feeling it was a reluctant favor to first-time director JonahLoop, who handled visual effects on a couple of Sam's other films.The film progresses somewhat as one would expect, albeit with a littlewindow dressing. I found myself wanting to fast-forward often, which Itook as a bad sign. Cinematography, effects, sound, etc. were onHollywood par though, and everyone else's acting was actually prettygood (perhaps the rookie director was too intimidated by Jackson tooffer him much direction, in comparison). Hopefully, with some betterideas that everyone can actually care about, this director can pull offsome good films in the future.

jackarute

(2012-04-26 06:39:52)

Solid Action Flic

There is little original in the story line. Picture Death Race or Gamerwith the protagonist fighting to the death every week instead of racinga car or in a fps mock up with real people. Furthermore, if any of thesocial commentary on where our society is headed based on the viewer'sever growing appetite for realism and violence is meant to be novel, itbarely registers with this viewer. However, adding Samuel Jackson asthe puppet master for these spectacles certainly makes even a retreadseem re-energized.   Kellan Lutz gives a solid enough performance asthe sympathetic protagonist finding himself in the do or die scenarioand Johnny Messner is a more than adequate secondary villain. Mixedwith some eye candy and an arc (with a nice twist) that createssufficient  anticipation as to how it's all going to end results in anabove average viewing experience. 

uunio

(2012-04-22 20:22:23)

Surprisingly Great

Kellan Lutz was amazing in this and of course Mr. Jackson is alwaysflawless. I really hope they can do a part 2 or somehow franchise onthe film and keep the original characters and keep the story flowing.I'm typically not into fighting films, or anything of this nature butI'm a big fan of the Twilight cast so I've been watching their otherfilms in between releases of Breaking Dawn and I stumbled across thisone. It really surprised me! Not recommended for children of course.There is a ton of violence, I'd compare the gore to say, 300. Theaction is great and their is a surprising twist in the end. It reallydid take me by surprise. I hope you all get as good of a thrill fromthis as I did!

cukofest

(2012-04-22 11:54:56)

Modern gladiators...

I do like the concept of this film, the idea isn't exactly fresh butputs gladiator fights in new modern environment.The film starts out quite promising however the potential fadessomewhat with the second fight and really drops during the middle part(fights from 3 to 7). During those scenes I felt like their onlypurpose was to add minutes to the film. I think 10 fights is way toomuch. 5 full fights each with good choreography and a few slow motionhits would do the trick I think. David's many wounds heal unrealistically quick. I also find the suddenchange in David's personality really odd/unnatural, I guess some of itcan be explained by the whole undercover operation. Still I get thefeeling that he mixed a few of his priorities and that he even likedall the killing and sex (ok, I know, what's not to like about thesecond). I think he didn't express enough of the burden of taking(innocent) lives. I was surprised somewhat by the twist at the end, butI still cant figure out how did Samuel L. Jackson manage to escape fromthe building surrounded by police.Overall I think this movie is an average and nothing special really. Istill had some fun watching it and Marcelle Baer really gave some spiceto it. To unlock it's potential greatness however I'm afraid it wouldneed a little more than just a few finishing touches.

mattga1

(2012-04-14 12:17:39)

a decent film

when i started to watch this movie, i figured it had some potential andit would build up to be a good movie. but after the second half of thisfilm it starts to get boring. although the acting is decent, thefighting is actually pretty good and the blood effects were well done.but when this film reaches the second half, it starts to become lessentertaining and looks quiet fake and just plain stupid. honestly, thefinal fight with the executioner on some sand? that was just plainidiotic, especially the part where you find out when David lord (KellanLutz) is actually a special agent. this movie had some good potentialand some exciting scenes but towards the end, it just seems to go down.6/10i would have probably given it a five, if it didn't have Johnny Messnerand Samuel Jackson, those two are good actors.

phd_travel

(2012-04-13 16:15:26)

Way too violent - what are the stars doing in this?

Watched this DVD because it has a good cast: Samuel L Jackson, KellanLutz and I am a fan of Nina Dobrev. Nina hardly acts a few minutes.Samuel - did you read the script? Kellan this is not the way to build acareer.People are captured and forced to fight to the death for onlineentertainment. This is a terrible movie. The violence is just sosickening. It's an example of how wrong action movies can get. Thestory is weak and you don't care for any of the characters. Therepeated violence is disgusting. I don't see how anyone could beentertained by it. Please don't watch this sickening movie. It shouldnever have been made.

snivellinggit

(2012-04-06 12:32:37)

Retardedly awful

The movie was merely okay for the first 20 minutes or so. Totallypredictable and clichГѓВ©, but watchable. At the point the the maincharacter, who's only claim to fame is being a marine widower kills thekendo master in a katana duel, the movie just got moronic. From theevil villainess's change of heart that would rival the idiocy of theBaroness falling for Duke, to the terrible montage glossing over themore interesting looking fight scenes, the movie robs the viewer of anyentertainment, despite the pornographic violence and the T&A.Sam Jackson knocks it out the park with his contemptuous performance.It's clearly a mailed in effort, which is all this movie deserves.

Tony Heck

(2012-04-05 20:35:12)

Death Race 6...this time with Sam Jackson and no cars. Not a bad movie, but I'm getting burnt out on this idea. I say B-.

"What's the one thing we all have in common?...Death." After a tragicaccident leaves his wife dead, David (Lutz) is picked to take part in a"game". This game involves two men fighting to the death. When Davidagrees to do it in exchange for his freedom, the creator (Jackson) hasother plans. My theory of movies lately are that there are no originalideas anymore. Recently it seems like it's either a remake, sequel,comic book or a rehash of a movie that has been done. Counting thismovie, 13 and Freerunner there are now 4 movies released recently thatsteal from "Death Race". While I did see the others first it may haveskewed my judgment but this was much slower then I was expecting. Theplot is...take a guy with no family, force him to fight and kill forhis freedom while the evil creator watches. Very predictable and isreally only worth watching for the fighting and nudity. On the otherhand, why else would you watch this anyway? Overall, not a bad movie,but the plot is starting to get old and over used. That makes it losethe excitement and impact. Because of un-originality I give it a B-.Would I watch again? - Not this one...but again I'm sure next monthanother version will come out.*Also try - Gamer & Death Race 1 & 2

phd_travel

(2012-03-31 03:53:57)

Way too violent - what are the stars doing in this?

Watched this DVD because it had a good cast: Samuel L Jackson, KellanLutz and I am a fan of Nina Dobrev. Nina hardly acts a few minutes.Samuel - did you read the script? Kellan this is not the way to build acareer.People are captured and forced to fight to the death for onlineentertainment. This is a terrible movie. The violence is just sosickening. It's an example of how wrong action movies can get. Thestory is weak and you don't care for any of the characters. Therepeated violence is disgusting. I don't see how anyone could beentertained by it. Please don't watch this sickening movie. It shouldnever have been made.

dooleyanthony

(2012-03-30 11:46:24)

This is one to watch.....ARENA is AWESOME

This is one sick, awesome and brutal film. Enough to keep the gore fansand the Samuel Jackson fans happy. I give it 11 out of 10.It is actionall the way and has a few plot twists that make you go ooooooooh. I wasnot to sure what to expect from this film as I had not heard anythingabout it but I am glad I took the time to watch it (I urge you to dothe same). A life long Samuel Jackson fan I think I would have beenunhappy had I missed out on this film and the vast majority of Arena isnot about him. It has a feeling of Condemned meets Gladiator but its anew twist on it. I guess the only real way to judge a film is to watchit for yourself. Some of the fight scenes could have lasted longer, butwhere they lack in time they make up for in both gore and sheerbrutality.I HOPE YOU ENJOY WATCHING IT AS MUCH AS I DID.

reefer420

(2012-03-23 14:18:15)

An entertaining low-budget action movie

I think it's safe to say the director of Arena is a fan of the Starzshow "Spartacus". This film follows a very similar formula to thosestories: Take it to the Extreme. Extreme blood. Extreme nudity. Extremesituations. Most American men will be pleased.The film opens with a hokey-looking gladiator fight being viewed byvarious people around the world. We learn that "Death Games" is anillegal online program that features real fights to the death. It's ahit with college kids and Japanese office workers around the globe. TheFBI, Interpol, and everyone else are unable to locate them and shut itdown.Our hero, David Lord (Kellen Lutz), is in a car crash with his pregnantwife, who dies. David finds himself seduced by a hot British lady,played by Katia Winter, who will no doubt find herself on the "watchlist" of many young men, as she is gorgeous,a good actress,andapparently very willing to do full-frontal nudity. If nothing else, Ithink she gives the perfect audition for the actual "Spartacus" show.Samuel L. Jackson plays the "ringleader" of the online fightingbusiness. He is delightfully over-the-top, although it is difficult toget the question of "why is he in this movie?" out of your head.Clearly he owed the director a favor or something.Amazingly, he probably gives the WORST performance of the film. Themain character, the chick, and the assorted bad guys are all prettydecent, but Sam feels a bit wooden, even when he's shouting and dancingaround. I agree with another reviewer who theorized that perhaps thedirector was a bit intimidated when directing the great Samuel L.Jackson. Still, I will give him tremendous props for agreeing to dothis movie. Nothing wrong with helping people out, and he is actuallyIN the movie, unlike many "celebrity cameo" parts in modern films wherethe big name only appears in one or two scenes.The fight scenes are a mixed bag. They are pretty bloody, but the greatfight choreography of "Spartacus" is missing. They also have anannoying "Vignette" effect on all the fights that darkens the cornersof the frame...I found it distracting. There are things that work,though. The first fight looks a little odd, but then you realize thateven "in the movie" they are meant to look a little odd, since they arefilmed in a green screen room and then given fake backgrounds. This ispart of the plot, as the fight locations change each time. One fightmight be in a "gladiator" style with swords and armor, another in a"world war I" style with trenches and bayonets. That was very cleverand well done.One thing the film does well is a bit of "fourth wall" humor.References to other movies and TV shows, including a direct referenceto "Spartacus", as well as a hilarious "Office Space" moment with atwist, really help remind the viewer that this movie is ultimatelymeant to be fun.The main character, Kellen Lutz, was a surprise. I'd never heard of theguy, but he was pretty good. You don't hate him for being a "prettyboy" since he gets himself pretty bloodied and messed up. He definitelyseems to be channeling the late, great Andy Whitfield from "Spartacus"with his cold stares and angry, slow-motion screaming; he even kind oflooks like Andy.As I mentioned earlier, Katia Winter stole the show with her FemmeFatale character. Despite the fact that after her third nude scene evenI was questioning exactly WHY she needed to be in the buff so much, Ienjoyed the hell out of her performance, even when clothed! She has theperfect "evil Bond girl that turns good" attitude, and I predict we'llbe seeing a lot more of her in the future.The director, Jonah Loop, is a veteran special effects producer on manybig movies. Despite the low-budget, it's evident there is talent behindthe camera. The movie is very well shot and edited, to the point whereyou actually forget the "low-budge" origins at times. It's really onlythe fight scenes that look a little hokey. I'd say the guy did a greatjob with what he had, and I certainly will check out his futureefforts.If you are a fan of shows like "Spartacus" or movies like "Gamer", thisis one you should check out. If nothing else, I guarantee you will notbe bored.

medlocka

(2012-03-22 23:15:47)

Arena directors stuff up

The movie was great but the ending completely killed what could havebeen a really great movie. NO sequel will fix the first movie or makeit any better. The producers really stuffed up on the ending. All itneeded was a another 10 minutes to bring it to the best possibleending. The movie leads to a climax which is NOT suited to a sequel andwhich will DESTROY the original movie. I give 9 out of 10 but know thatthe end if done properly would have rated 10. Why cant they get itright. It would seem that at the end , the directors where moreinterested in a sequel then in providing viewers with a really goodmovie. The performance by all actors and actresses is really good but,limited by the directors and their reproduction of the original story.I think producers rely too much on sequels today to make a movie rate10 out of 10. this came very close in my books but was destroyed in theend. We do not all want to watch sequels and this should be drummedinto producers and directors. Why kill a VERY good movie just for a fewextra dollars. A lot more could have been added but, the end version iswhat the public see, this is what counts.

David Nusair

(2012-03-19 14:42:30)

An absolutely, astonishingly incompetent piece of work...

Stanislav Ivanov

(2012-03-19 12:32:35)

Total disaster

Kind of "Saw" series movies, but much more easier to predict the nextstep. I'm astonished that Sam L.J. has decided to be a part of thismovie and I'm really curious if this has payed him off at all :) Asmentioned in the plot line itself.. it is brutal movie, but I still cansee much more blood and pain into "Spartacus, God of Arena" than inthis movie. If you want to loose 87mins when waiting for train orsomething like that, then this could be a good choice. I never havegiven so far a review of a film in any forum, but people, please, don'tloose your time into watching this unless you're really bored.Basically I would say that the only kind of theatrical performance hereis to Nina Dobrev, but rest is just much below of average of what thosekind of actors are capable of

miketaylor2007

(2012-03-15 08:40:44)

Great fun if you want to see a movie with lots of fighting and blood

This was a damn entertaining movie for the guy who loves fightingfilms. I thought Arena was great and I have nothing but good things tosay about it. Samuel knew this was really good too or he would havenever done it in the first place. I know when I turn on a fightingmovie I don't want to experience deep emotions and have myself a goodcry. I want to see a man beat another man's face in. I want brutality,I want violence, and this delivered. Seeing Samuel L Jackson play thevillain is nice for a change and he does a fantastic job. Arena is kindsimilar to The Condemned. I don't want to give away any spoilers, butgive this one a chance if you love fighting and gore. Sleepless inSeattle is for crying yourself to sleep at night, Arena is for anaction packed gorefest of fights to the death. 10/10 because it was myfavourite fight movie of 2011.

Cinema_Love

(2012-03-15 01:57:28)

Why Samuel Why ??

Maybe i had high expectations but then, this is the kind of movie wehave seen like a hundred times in the past years... A guy blond-hairedmuscular (Twilight's Kellan Lutz) sees his girlfriend killed in anaccident, and she was pregnant.... then he goes on drinking alcohol thenext minute, in Mexico... meet a women, that women goes naked and hegot kidnapped because it was a trapt... the next minute, he's somewherein a video game called ''Death Games'' (Original title wow), that is onthe internet. So people pay to bet who will win the fights. Samuel L.Jackson is the director of all of this, and our hero, Lutz, will tellhim he will kill him at the very end. Samuel laugh, ha-ha. Then, Lutzgoes on fight like 8 people before he gets to the executionner, the guythat killed people that are KOed. It's basic formula, it's poor acting,bad special effects and horrible fight sequences... if at least we getsgood fights but we're not. At the very beginning, there's a fight wecan see it's all fake. I thought it was a joke, when someone hitanother with a punch and you can see at least 2 feet of nothing betweenthem, it deserve a good ole' WOW !!!! It's bad and thanks god it didnot receive a Theatrical Release.

Matt Kracht

(2012-03-10 00:36:29)

Stylistic, gratuitous exploitation

While I agree with the highly negative reviews already posted, I didn'tfind it *quite* as offensively bad as they did. Sure, the fightchoreography was poor, at times, but it wasn't nearly as bad asAmsterdam Heavy. The acting wasn't much better, but it was still aboutpar for the genre. I guess this is place where I'm supposed to expressincredulity over Sam Jackson appearing in this movie, but, really,everyone who watches lots of low budget, direct-to-video movies knowsthat he'll appear in anything. He's done some really mediocre (and evenbad) movies, in the past.Anyways, the main plot consists of a James Bond villain (Sam Jackson)kidnapping people and forcing them into fighting to the death. That'sit. Nothing else. No pretenses to art here. Now, if the fightchoreography and stunts were good, I might able to suggest this to fansof direct-to-video B movies inspired by Enter the Dragon andBloodsport. Unfortunately, they're really not very well done, with someof them looking downright crappy and unimpressive. Some others,however, end up looking pretty decent, though nowhere near Enter TheDragon or Bloodsport. The direction focuses on stylized, bloodyviolence, with fast cuts, slow motion, and lots of posing. If MichaelBay drives you nuts, I doubt you'll like this much, either.There's a rather surprising amount of gratuitous exploitation in thismovie. If you're prudish at all, I'd warn you to avoid it. There'sconstant, gory violence and occasional full frontal nudity (femaleonly), making this one of the most overt, unapologetic, and cynicalattempts at making a mainstream action movie that I've seen recently. Iguess they're saying that if the nudity doesn't get you off, theviolence will, like we're all a bunch over-stimulated sociopaths.There's a satirical element to all this gratuitous exploitation, but Ithink it was inserted merely to deflect criticism.If you're looking for exploitation, there's plenty of that. Otherwise,I'd say you're best off skipping it. The action scenes aren't goodenough. Some people have criticized this as being pornographic, and Ihave to agree; the violence seems to be almost fetishized. However,amoral as I am, I find the lack of plot and poor fight choreography tobe the true problems with this movie.

Robert_Bortz

(2012-03-09 04:52:20)

One of the best movies I have ever seen that did not go to theaters!

All in all a pretty darn good movie. Some of these reviews are justplain stupid. Its like they where not paying attention at all. Yes thisconcept had been done before but not exactly like this. Short Summery,Man is some kinda special ops solider. His wife and unborn son die. Hetakes a mission to track down and illegal cage fighting ring thatsinternet based where the fighters are kidnapped then sentenced to fightto the death using hands, hand-held weapons, and various stage props.He Infiltrates the fights as a fighter. He does some serious damage asyou would expect from A highly trained spec ops Solider. In the endback up rives and the fights are shut down and the bad guy that ran itall gets away leaving room for squeal (Samuel Jackson is not going tolet himself get killed off lol). Yes Some of the acting was not perfectbut they did a good job for allot of unknowns. Other then that thismovies strives on realism. There is allot of nudity and it is prettygory at times with lots of blood but you get sliced open and if youdon't loose allot of blood. The special effects where not the best butagain its not a mainstream movie and if you put to much special effectin your gonna loose its realism. Over all a pretty darn good movie anddefinitively worth watching. Just go into it expecting that if thiswhere real would it be like this and you should enjoy this movie.

richardsandson

(2012-03-09 12:59:44)

Utter trash

I am a fan of the 80's martial art movie, anything with a conspiracyand a bit of violence is usually right up my street. Now you know a bitabout where im coming from you'll appreciate me telling you that,.."This film was the cheesiest load of boolacks i've ever had themisfortune to watch. It was right up there with the very worst ofthem." As for samuel, how did he keep a straight face making this? Macewindu one minute, cheesy mMcCheeserson the next. This guy has made somemonstrous movies in the past, to be honest some of the best. When i sawhis name on a poster i wanted to see the movie because he was thatgood.To sumerise, don't bother

Wizard-8

(2012-03-08 23:04:56)

Familiar story given familiar treatment

My first thought upon seeing this movie at my local video store waswondering why Samuel L. Jackson was appearing in a direct-to-DVD movie- did he have some gambling debts he had to pay off quickly? Anyway,Jackson gives the movie a little spark, though he does seem to beacting in his sleep. But he's not one of the main problems of themovie.For starters, the main plot elements and plot turns are VERY familiar.We have a hero who has lost a wife and is a drunk... who is seenfighting in a bar by people working for the main bad guy... who issubsequently kidnapped... who is forced to fight to the death withmultiple opponents, in fights that are sent around the world to peopleon the Internet. We have seen all this MANY times before, except maybefor a minor plot twist towards the end.The movie might have been saved by exciting fights and professionaltreatment, but the movie is lacking in those areas as well. Althoughthere is some bone crunching and blood spilling in the fights, most ofthe fights are surprisingly lacking impact. There's bad use of slowmotion, stuff happens out of camera range, and many times we just see afew seconds of a fight. The movie also looks surprisingly ugly, withunattractive colors or lighting throughout.I will admit that this movie is far from the worst direct-to-DVD moviethat's been made. But there's not enough positive stuff in it to makeit worth a rental.