The Tournament (2009) Reviews

• Action fans will rejoice.

  Fella_shibby2017-08-23

  I saw this in 2009 n revisited it recently on a DVD which i own. Action fans should definitely check this out. The plot - A group of sadistic gamblers makes wagers on 30 of the world's most deadly assassins who band against one another in a battle royal. Debutante director Scott Mann did a terrific job considering the budget. The action is non stop. There are shoot-outs, gun play, bloodbaths in unlikely venues, severed limbs, exploding bodies caused by booby-trapped tracking devices, plenty of explosions, car chases, kicking, punching, heads exploding off like melons, severed limbs, wild stunts, a bus/truck chase, nudity and gore. Its really a *ucking shame that this film didn't got the recognition it deserves. The star cast is decent, the hot n attractive Kelly Hu (her sex scene from Farmhouse man), Ving Rhames, Robert Carlyle, Liam Cunningham, Scott Adkins n Sebastian Foucon (the guy from Casino royal). There's an excellent free running sequence courtesy of park-our expert Sebastian Foucon.

• What a surprise! 7/10

  MaybeTomorrow2012-12-18

  Wow. I was expecting a mediocre executed movie but it turned out to be awesome from the first minute in. I don't know why the movie gets so much negative feedback here. When you watch the movie it's very clear that the makers were inspired by "Battle Royale" and "Terminator 2". A solid cast: Ving Rhames (always bad-ass), Robert Carlyle, Ian Somerhalder (who does surprisingly well!) and a action-packed small role for Scott Adkins. Guns, gore, boobs and loads of stunts & action! Highly recommended for action-fans! 7/10

• Believe me, Middlesborough never looked better....

  intelearts2009-10-16

  There are only three other reviews here so far: two give this 10 (Err... two different named reviewers, identical reviews, duplicate memo to PR team please....idiots) and the other 1 so let's assume some will love this and others will hate it. I'll try to review it.... Plot: pretty easy sell, every seven years the top assassins hold the tournament; they kill each other until the last survivor wins it all; all organized, tracked, and betted on by billionaires, of course. The whole thing is kind of like no limit hold'em.... but they can't all dodge bullets, baby. Think Tekken and you're not in the right area, it is better than Uwe Boll and that ilk. Not quite lineage as Guy Ritchie (Obviously) but only needing Jason Stratham this is exactly what is says on the box: an out and out kill or be killed cartoonish film. Filming is good, nothing too dark or menacing but just nice. It's not Battle Royale but if action is your thing and you liked Death Race 2000, Shoot Em'Up or Wanted then you'll be happy enough. Any gripes about morality are irrelevant here, this is in a moral vacuum, and so are plot holes, logic, or how heads explode like watermelons, this is either your type of film or you should really it avoid totally. Yep, it's violent - limbs fly, people die in well, imaginative ways - but it is not horror. It's all well put together, nicely cast, and creates enough interest; better than just hunt or be hunted there is a real plot and even character development... Oh and great to choose Middlesborough, seriously one of the ugliest, most desolate pile of concrete crap evaar...ha ha....shooting it up the kyber pass can only improve it.... This is a movie to watch with mates and wince and cheer to....

• Has been done better before!

  e_esben2009-10-27

  So there is a tournament every 7 years where the worlds best assassins fight to their death, and the winner wins 10 mio dollar. Each assassin gets an implant and a locating device so they can find each other. The tournaments takes place in a normal city, where the mess that is made will be blamed on terrorists and madmen to keep the tournament a secret. It is a premise with lots of potential for a fun movie. What breaks this movie is the bad character development; you know who are going to be be the finalists from the start, but just just hope that they will be killed off because there are no reasons to like them. Still the movie has so great action that makes it relatively enjoyable. There are some brutal kills (e.g. people exploding with meat all over) and some fun fights (e.g. strip club). But it has all been seen much better in movies as The Condemned, Battle Royal, Death Race and The Running Man.

• Excellent actioner

  dima-122009-10-18

  When I decided to check out "The Tournament" the expectations were moderate. Actually I expected it to be a pleasant DTV title with a couple of cool actors. What I got instead was a thrilling actioner that surpasses most of the theatrical releases of the same genre. The action is hyperkinetic and violent, and Scott Mann has undisputed Hollywood potential. The plot about the assassin tournament is clean and simple, a lot like "Taken" and when it comes to comparison between these two films, only advantage for "Taken" is Liam Neeson. "The Tournament" provides solid acting but it doen't have such a potent star. Actually, if we consider its budget, "The Tournament" is really outstanding in terms of casting because it combines available theatrical-feature actors like Kelly Hu, Liam Cunningham,, Robert Carlyle and Ving Rhames with top DTV names like Scott Adkins. Scott Adkins' potential was obvious ever since he first appeared in Isaac Florentine films and in "the Tournament" he is accompanied by Sebastien Foucan, the parkourist we remember from "Casino Royale". Fight scenes are marvelously staged, with great fight choreography, but also outstanding gunplay and vehicle stunts. When it comes to the sheer amount of action "The Tournament" gives you the most for bang for the buck. It is very hard to invent some new kinds of action set-pieces and choreographies but in a couple of scenes "Rhe Tournament" does that. Also, you must bear in mind that action is very violent and gory. The sheer amount of gore is comparable to Neill Blomkamp's "District 9". Bloodletting is stylish and lavish and Scott Mann really has the guts (quite literally) to pull it off. I am surprised that this film failed to get theatrical release. I mean, it's quite obvious that American distributors wouldn't release because none of the stars are a draw in the US but I guess it should've worked quite well internationally. Writer Gary Young was lucky to move on into theatrical business with Matthew Vaughn production "Harry Brown". I hope Scott Mann will accomplish the same.