Brawl is one of those martial arts movies where the plot gets in the way of the action. I believe that in movies of this genre the plot should be in service of the fighting and not the other way around. And in Brawl they are trying to tell us a dramatic tale of friendship and redemption. Sounds good doesn't it? Well, those kinds of stories work if the people portraying the characters actually know how to act. And it is pretty obvious they don't know how to. Often it is just agonizing to watch them utter their lines and their attempts in bringing emotion to the screen. Although I must admit that for a little while they had me going with the beginning. Mike (Jawed El Berni) managed to play the fish out of water quite nicely even if it was very briefly. Who has not feel like a stranger in a country that is not their own? But soon it goes downhill from that and the only thing that made me keep watching it was the martial arts. The fighting is excellent. Sometimes the main characters would display moves that would make you ask yourself: Did he just do that? It's not surprising that the real talent of these actors lies in their martial arts skills and that is the sole reason why Brawl is worth your time.
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