"The Tournament" is a movie that has flown under the radar, playing only at a handful of film festivals during the summer of 2009. After it was well recieved at Cannes, it followed to play in festivals in Germany, Finland and finally, in the US at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival in October, and was released on DVD a few days later.
A rather genius story written and directing by virtual unknowns in Hollywood, is about a tournament that takes place in a different city around the world every seven years. Gathering 30 of the world's best assassins, the Bookmaker pits them against each other and watches every moment, as rich businessmen bet on the winner. Tracking devices are inserted into their bodies so the betters can track them, and they can track each other. With only 24 hours to kill the other 29 gamers, it's kill or die for an enormous cash prize.
With a story that can be seen as a typical shoot' em up action film, it is anything but. Joshua Harlow, played by Ving Rhymes(Mission Impossible), is already a Tournament champion, but returns to avenge the death of his wife, whose killer is another player. Lai Lai Zhen, played by Kelly Hu (X2), fights for redemption and the right to disappear forever. And in it for the joy of the kill is Miles Slade, played by Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries), and is probably the craziest of them all. However, in the wrong place at the wrong time is Father MacAvoy, played by Robert Carlyle (Stargate Universe), a priest who accidentally requires a tracking device and is suspected a player. Taken under Lai Lai's wing, she is determined to protect him in a deadly game of all or nothing.
A combination of great dialogue, great and terribly cringing death scenes, and strong acting on Carlyle and Somerhalder's parts, this film is definitely not for the faint of heart...literally. However, if you don't mind some blood on the walls, and a Texan who snaps off fingers with his cigar cutter as prizes, then you'll love it. As an aspiring writer who sometimes struggles creating original action scenes, it's clear that these three writers did not have that problem. A fly on a bus windshield, a slaughter in a strip club, and imploding from a charged tracking device, "The Tournament" is ingenious not only in story, but just plain cool action.
As a person that loves action movies for the sheer entertainment of seeing how writers come up with different ways to kill people, this film fascinated me from start to finish. It's a non-stop action thrill ride created for an audience to simply enjoy watching a few familiar faces and being in your seat for an 90 minutes.
There are few films today that give an audience the simple love of going to the movies. "The Tournament" is definitely one of these.
I enjoyed every minute of this film. From Robert Carlyle's priest with a drinking problem, and Ian Somerhalder's completely and utterly insane and unhinged Texan that kills anyone and anything in his way, "The Tournament" will make you laugh, cringe, gasp, and even cheer.
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