directed by:
Brandon Slagle written by: Brandon Slagle genre: Action, Sci-Fi |
As always, be warned that some minor spoilers will no doubt be presented. For what I was sure would be an action-based film stocked full of beat-downs, I gotta admit, the first thing that “Arena Wars” secured from me was a healthy laugh when I saw “The Big Fucking City, 2045” pop up at the start of this movie. Technically less than twenty years away, with a story that feels like it could start taking place anytime right around the corner from where we are now – “Arena Wars” proudly delves into the true joy we get out of watching other people in peril and facing death.
It’s the kind of vehicle you’d expect to find Michael Madsen and Eric Roberts being a part of at this stage in their career, and lo & behold, that’s exactly the case. While “Arena Wars” is not entirely a carbon copy of anything else, the subject matter is completely familiar & has been explored in just about everything - from the old gladiator battles of the Roman Empire to modern-day films like “The Condemned,” “The Running Man,” “The Hunger Games,” and so many more. The world’s most vicious killers and convicts are all a part of a game show designed for our entertainment, whereby if they win, they not only survive - but regain their freedom. Writer/Director Brandon Slagle isn’t attempting to create something immune from an onslaught of obvious comparisons - so much as he’s drawing inspiration from a wealth of materials centred around an idea that most folks out there genuinely can’t get enough of. Whether you want to admit it or not, creating a film like “Arena Wars” boils down to the simplest formulas – demand and supply. We love seeing people fight to the death for their survival, that’s the reality. It’s to the point where the worst kept secret in the world is that a show like “Arena Wars” would really work – if we owned up to who we are as a society, we’d have to acknowledge this is what really entertains us. Beyond the marquee names of Madsen and Roberts, who have more minimal roles & serve more as the bait to draw people in, you’ll likely recognize folks like Kevin Hager, who was in “Night Of The Tommyknockers,” and perennial bad-guy Robert LaSardo, who always brings a level of credibility to the criminal element through his presence no matter what he’s in. The dude naturally looks like bad news when he wants, and that serves & suits a film like “Arena Wars” perfectly. It’s probably fair to say that “Arena Wars” is exactly what you’d expect it to be. Relentless fighting, lots of blood & guts, plenty of masked weirdos, and an ever-present audience continually thirsty for more. I’m not gonna be the guy to tell you that “Arena Wars” is recreating the wheel here – it’s clearly borrowing from recipes that are tried, tested, true, and older than anyone reading this or even involved with making this film would be – but there’s no doubt about its entertainment value for the exact same reasons. To put the finest point on this that I can, “Arena Wars” will not be the last film you’ll ever see made with this concept – it will continue to pop up time and time again because we all truly do love it. When it comes to this particular film, it’s certainly shot cleanly and clearly. Its characters are definitely interesting, even if they’re fairly short-lived for the time we spend with them, and for the Action-film crowd out there, it’s pretty much guaranteed to keep them securely entertained. I’ll be real with ya – as a person who spent over a decade in the video rental business back in the day, I know there’s an audience for “Arena Wars” because I used to serve them daily - and I know the precise demographic a movie like this always succeeds in targeting. We’re talkin’ about the gruff, 9-5 workin’ dudes out there that are still rockin’ denim everywhere they go - and couldn’t care less about how or if a movie they’re going to watch ever made it to the big screen - as long as it has got someone they love like Eric Roberts in it, even if it’s only for five minutes. That is a joyous truth, my friends. As it turns out, for the plotline of “Arena Wars,” the public has gotten less interested in the most violent criminals getting purged from the planet, and they’re looking for some kind of champion they can cheer for instead. That doesn’t mean they don’t still come with a shady past, of course, but you get it, they’re selected to be more geared towards what the audience has indicated they want to see – so cue Luke Bender, played by John Wells, who ends up being the main character we follow along with. Is he as badass as the rest of the folks he’s forced to share his screen time with, or has he been put in this show as a result of being wrongly convicted years ago? Maybe he’s innocent – what a twist that would be! You’d think that they’d never make legal mistakes in “The Big Fucking City” in the year 2045, right?
For the most part, I’d say that “Arena Wars” has no problem supplying what its audience is looking for. There are muscles and tattoos to be seen everywhere you look, stubble on just about every chin, plenty of oiled nipples and such. I mean, the concept of shows like this are really only one crucial step further - in a brutal direction than something like UFC or WWE already go in. Like it or not, a show like “Arena Wars” is a logical next step for the kind of entertainment we don’t want to acknowledge that we really want to watch – but rest assured, we’ll get there one day because we’ve been there before. As far as what Slagle could have improved upon? I’d say there are a few glaring moments where the fight scenes and choreography could have been more convincing, but I’d also readily tell ya there are plenty of spots that hit the mark bang-on, too. It’s one of those things though…when you’ve got a few that don’t quite land with the same degree of authority, it tends to affect the rest as a whole. The same principle of how one bad apple can spoil the bunch is applicable to making films with a metric ton of fight scenes. As for having the bigger names like Madsen and Roberts included? I’ll be real with ya: they’re not necessary – they buy currency with the potential audience, that’s it, that’s all. Would “Arena Wars” have been just as good without them involved? Basically yes. The quality of the film itself wouldn’t have been affected whatsoever, but having them in the credits will definitely lead to more eyeballs watching this. Could “Arena Wars” have used a whole lot more time with Robert LaSardo than we get? Absolutely. “It’s the most fascinating study of the human condition since the advent of social media.” I loved the scenes with the crowd in “Arena Wars” and felt like that’s where this film excelled the most – that’s where the real insight can be found within a story like this. I’m not gonna lie to ya; there’s a very stereotypical meat-headedness that a tale like this has to contain in order to appeal to its audience, and “Arena Wars” has got tons of violence to satisfy that need – so for myself? It was great to have another dimension of its plot to enjoy as Slagle explored the reaction of its crowd in real time, in addition to the twisted nature of those pulling the strings behind the scenes. There’s no doubt that I would have loved to have spent more time on that part of a story like this, but I’m not at all the target demographic for something like “Arena Wars,” even though I’ve typically enjoyed every iteration of this idea in every form it has come in more or less. Like, I went to the theatres to see “The Condemned” y’all – I’m not immune from enjoying a healthy dose of violence, blood, and guts, just like the rest of you do. “Arena Wars” pales a bit in comparison to the films it’d be most easily compared to, but it’s not that far off the mark either – I’m going with a solid three and a half stars out of five – it’s watchable, entertaining, and delivers what you know it will - through a flurry of fists, punches, and punch-lines that generally hit the intended target. |
|
|
More To Check Out.
|
