Despite the fact that this straight to DVD film features cliché after cliché it still works…on a certain level.  In regards to the fight scenes it is great.  Former martial artist Michael Jai White directs and acts in the film and he keeps it focused on what it does best: kick some serious butt.  Film fans won’t be impressed but fans of Mixed Martial Arts will get a kick out of it.

At a local college the ultimate underground MMA fight is being planned by young impresario Max Cooperman (Evan Peters - Kick-Ass, Never Back Down).  Four young men from different backgrounds turn to ex-MMA rising star Case Walker (Michael Jai White - The Dark Knight, Spawn) to teach them how to become better fighters.  Mike Stokes (Dean Geyer - from television’s Terra Nova), Zack Gomes (Alex Meraz - The Roommate, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse), Tim Newhouse (Todd Duffee - first film), and Justin Epstein (Scottie Epstein - Harvard Man) all become loyal to Case once they see the results of his unorthodox training methods.  They are all ready for the Beatdown.

Things go from good to bad when Justin becomes unhinged and Case tosses him out of the club.  Wanting revenge Justin vows to get back at Case and his three protégés.  He betrays them and gets a racist cop (Rus Blackwell - Monster, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) to help him out.

Unlike many martial arts films this is not one you are going to watch again even for the fights.  It’s lack of character or plot development and cheesy dialogue will be almost too much for you to handle.  Though it is not saying much Michael Jai White is the best actor of the bunch.  He is less wooden that the younger members of the cast anyways.  At a certain point I feel asleep and then had to rewind it to find out what happened.  Turned out I hadn’t missed anything.

Special Features:
-Deleted Scenes
-Previews of Sony Blu-ray Discs, Arena, The River Murders, Champion Your Destiny, Colombiana, The Caller