The Tournament [Blu-ray]

The Tournament is one of those action films you've never heard of but is actually superior to the PG-13 trash that passes for Hollywood action these days (I'm looking at YOU, Die Hard 4). It barely got into cinemas for a week in October 2010 and you shouldn't let it slip away.

Robert Carlyle plays a washed-up priest who is caught up in a once-every-seven-years competition in which 30 of the world's best hitmen are pitted against each other in an unsuspecting, random town. The location this time is Middlesborough, England and the 24-hour bloodbath paints the town red before the climactic last-man-standing finale. Among the many hitmen are the gorgeous Kelly Hu and the burly Ving Rhames. There's not much time for character development, but the main trio work well off each other in between the brutal action scenes.

The Tournament does use some CGI blood effects in a few shots, not as awful as it usually is, but most of the gore is good, old-fashioned make-up. And when I said they paint the town red I really do mean it. The film is wonderfully gory in a way we just don't see in action movies anymore. Plus the stunts are all done for real in front of the camera, which makes it all the more visceral and visually appealing.

Don't write-off the Tournament. It delivers everything it promises. It doesn't rewrite the rules or set any new, genre-defining standard, but it's still better than modern, family-friendly 'action'.

The Blu Ray looks good in 1.78:1 1080p with DTS HD-MA sound. There are no extras.

This is a no brainer movie; but is pretty well done. The action is well filmed, acting is better than average (Rober Carlyle even without effort, steals every scene).
In brief, worth the price.

The Tournament takes a popular formula - contestants forced to fight to the death in a game-show and adds a British feel to it. Thirty assassins agree to take part in a deadly competition and the last man or woman standing is the winner, earning whichever rich businessman bet on them a considerable amount of money. Each year, this tournament takes place in a city around the world, with the mayhem and destruction written off as terrorist attacks or accidents, and this year's location is Middlesbrough, England. Unfortunately for one alcoholic priest, he is about to be mistaken for one of the deadly contestants and forced to take part in The Tournament.

I was expecting a low-brow Americanised Battle Royale rip-off, but there is a more European feel to this action adventure, which is akin to The Running Man, or to use a non-film comparison, it's a glossier version of The Button Man, a comic series written by John Wagner for 2000AD. While it isn't as satirical or political as Battle Royale, it is no less enjoyable and manages to keep the fast pace going throughout the movie, as well as introducing dynamic fight sequences throughout. I particularly liked the scene with the French Free-Runner as he attempted to kill the two main characters in the police car.

There are few notable names starring in this movie - Kelly Hu stars as the sympathetic hit-woman, Lei Lei, with Robert Carlyle as the reluctant priest, forced to participate in the deadly games. Ving Rhames and Ian Somerhalder also put in some memorable time as their roles, with Rhames as the world-weary assassin, tricked back into the game and Somerhalder's crazy Texan scenery-chewer, who is a far cry from his appearance as Boone in LOST.

It was slightly disappointing that the film felt the need to make some of the assassin's sympathetic as it gave the film a less morally ambiguous edge, and made us root for certain hit-men above overs, removing the Tournament feel to it. I would have preferred a more random feel to the plot, instead of knowing early on who was going to win the tournament, who would sacrifice themselves and who the bad guys would be. To an extent, Battle Royale was just as 'predictable' with the focus heavily on certain participants, which made it seems less evenly matched as a tournament.

I did enjoy this film more than I expected - I thought it might have been a low budget, poorly scripted, cash-in on the 'deadly gameshow' genre, but it actually had a lot of merit - both in the special effects and stunts, which were very impressive and with the calibre of acting and script. It could have easily have been a hammy production, with goofy hit-men and cringe-worthy dialogue. It wasn't high art - but it was damn fun!