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Redbelt Gets a No-Decision

Reviews mixed for Mamet fight flick

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted May 9, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

(Newser) – Redbelt can’t quite score a knockout with critics. While many find much to admire in David Mamet’s fight movie, most also concede it’s a flawed affair, and some outright disliked it. In the New York Times, Manohla Dargis described it as “a satisfying, unexpectedly involving B-movie,” that sadly “never marshals its estimable parts, its exciting fight sequences and juicy side characters into a transcendent whole.”

The movie follows a guru-like Ju-Jitsu instructor (Chiwetel Ejiofor, in a universally acclaimed performance) as he struggles against con men and would-be fight fixers. “You've seen teen breakdancing flicks with better plots,” complains Rafer Guzman in Newsday. But Lisa Schwarzbaum disagrees in Entertainment Weekly, quipping in Mamet-like prose: “That thing Mamet does he does again with feverish effing commitment.”

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In this image released by Sony Pictures Classics, Emily Moritmer stars as Laura Black, left, and Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Mike Terry in the film, "Redbelt." (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Classics, Lorey Sebastian)

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Redbelt (2008) - Trailer:A film by David Mamet. Opens in theaters May 9th.http://www.sonyclassics.com/redbelt/ (kungfucinema)

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Redbelt Gets a No-Decision