Genres

Visitors Review

Saad Khan 2012-05-24 01:55:05

gruesome lovers may actually quite enjoy it.

Arena – TRASH IT (C) Arena is a perfect example of how bad movies canbe made in Hollywood. Casting Samuel L Jackson and Kellan Lutz seemedlike a good cast for an action flick but when the production is C gradethe movie will turn out to be an outer trash too. Arena's story is justlike Hostel and The Tournament, where the kidnapped victims aretortured on the name of pleasure for public viewing. Samuel L Jacksonis doing many trashy movies lately. Kellan Lutz is all about physique,he still needs to improve a lot but defiantly he is good in kickingsome A**. Nina Dobrev was wasted in very small part. Kate Winter isexotic and kind of the only actor in the movie who acted good. Overall,Arena is time passer trash, though gruesome lovers may actually quiteenjoy it.

Robert_Bortz 2012-05-23 13:32:43

One of the best movies I have ever seen that did not go to theaters!

All in all a pretty darn good movie. Some of these reviews are justplain stupid. Its like they where not paying attention at all. Yes thisconcept had been done before but not exactly like this. Short Summery,Man is some kinda special ops solider. His wife and unborn son die. Hetakes a mission to track down and illegal cage fighting ring thatsinternet based where the fighters are kidnapped then sentenced to fightto the death using hands, hand-held weapons, and various stage props.He Infiltrates the fights as a fighter. He does some serious damage asyou would expect from A highly trained spec ops Solider. In the endback up rives and the fights are shut down and the bad guy that ran itall gets away leaving room for squeal (Samuel Jackson is not going tolet himself get killed off lol). Yes Some of the acting was not perfectbut they did a good job for allot of unknowns. Other then that thismovies strives on realism. There is allot of nudity and it is prettygory at times with lots of blood but you get sliced open and if youdon't loose allot of blood. The special effects where not the best butagain its not a mainstream movie and if you put to much special effectin your gonna loose its realism. Over all a pretty darn good movie anddefinitively worth watching. Just go into it expecting that if thiswhere real would it be like this and you should enjoy this movie.

Stanislav Ivanov 2012-05-23 02:55:50

Total disaster

Kind of "Saw" series movies, but much more easier to predict the nextstep. I'm astonished that Sam L.J. has decided to be a part of thismovie and I'm really curious if this has payed him off at all :) Asmentioned in the plot line itself.. it is brutal movie, but I still cansee much more blood and pain into "Spartacus, God of Arena" than inthis movie. If you want to loose 87mins when waiting for train orsomething like that, then this could be a good choice. I never havegiven so far a review of a film in any forum, but people, please, don'tloose your time into watching this unless you're really bored.Basically I would say that the only kind of theatrical performance hereis to Nina Dobrev, but rest is just much below of average of what thosekind of actors are capable of

mini-abm 2012-05-22 23:35:14

Men are forced to fight to their death in a virtual arena.

I always knew this would be some dumb action crab, but hey that is whatwe want right..? The idea is kind of cool, put a bunch of men into an arena, and forcethem to fight to their death. Then I realized, that it is based on theidea of the Hunger Games. (The Hunger Games is a book I read some timeago) That is also about a reality show, where there are chosen 1 boyand 1 girl between 12 and 18 to fight in an arena until a single victorremains.The idea of Arena is stolen from the Hunger Games books.If you want to see the real deal, watch The Hunger games. It is moredeep, and original. But it is also (unfortunately) a teenage movie,where all the blood is cut out. (takes some of the fun out of it)See Arena if you absolutely must, but really I'd just pass.

jackarute 2012-05-20 05:12:08

Solid Action Flic

There is little original in the story line. Picture Death Race or Gamerwith the protagonist fighting to the death every week instead of racinga car or in a fps mock up with real people. Furthermore, if any of thesocial commentary on where our society is headed based on the viewer'sever growing appetite for realism and violence is meant to be novel, itbarely registers with this viewer. However, adding Samuel Jackson asthe puppet master for these spectacles certainly makes even a retreadseem re-energized.   Kellan Lutz gives a solid enough performance asthe sympathetic protagonist finding himself in the do or die scenarioand Johnny Messner is a more than adequate secondary villain. Mixedwith some eye candy and an arc (with a nice twist) that createssufficient  anticipation as to how it's all going to end results in anabove average viewing experience. 

David Nusair 2012-05-19 19:37:18

An absolutely, astonishingly incompetent piece of work...

Cinema_Love 2012-05-16 21:28:15

Why Samuel Why ??

Maybe i had high expectations but then, this is the kind of movie wehave seen like a hundred times in the past years... A guy blond-hairedmuscular (Twilight's Kellan Lutz) sees his girlfriend killed in anaccident, and she was pregnant.... then he goes on drinking alcohol thenext minute, in Mexico... meet a women, that women goes naked and hegot kidnapped because it was a trapt... the next minute, he's somewherein a video game called ''Death Games'' (Original title wow), that is onthe internet. So people pay to bet who will win the fights. Samuel L.Jackson is the director of all of this, and our hero, Lutz, will tellhim he will kill him at the very end. Samuel laugh, ha-ha. Then, Lutzgoes on fight like 8 people before he gets to the executionner, the guythat killed people that are KOed. It's basic formula, it's poor acting,bad special effects and horrible fight sequences... if at least we getsgood fights but we're not. At the very beginning, there's a fight wecan see it's all fake. I thought it was a joke, when someone hitanother with a punch and you can see at least 2 feet of nothing betweenthem, it deserve a good ole' WOW !!!! It's bad and thanks god it didnot receive a Theatrical Release.

Simon Bubach 2012-05-16 05:17:00

Not as bad as it seems.

Well, you've seen it all before, it's not a new concept but it's stillpretty interesting. I sat through the whole movie without any problemsat all. Sure, some things were pretty stupid like that an infamous massmurderer wouldn't have more security or that you cannot possiblysurvive the amount beating the main character receives.I liked the movie but unfortunately it was too average. The acting isnothing to complain about but the characters are pretty boring. SamuelL. Jackson gives us a typical villain and Kellan Lutz gives us theusual hero, nothing special on that front.I liked Daniel Dae Kim's character but he had a too small a role. Ithad every better if they had developed his character more then I wouldcare a lot more about the people who died. There are lots of people whodie but I did not think I really cared it was unfortunate and somethingthat they could have worked more with.This is by no means comparable to Hunger Games/BR, but give it a shotif you just want some pretty OK entertainment.

equazcion 2012-05-13 18:24:44

You've already seen it

Men are forced to fight to the death for an eager internet audience,but the game's most recent recruit may pose a threat to the system withhis unyielding spirit.It's a cliché to even say this sounds familiar, so I won't do that ;)This might've had a chance at being good if it had been made prior toGladiator, Running Man, Gamer, Rollerball, etc. etc. etc. (as then, atleast, the idea behind the whole thing would've been something new).This doesn't seem to make much of an attempt at serving up anythingsignificantly fresh though, except perhaps the effects technology to upthe bar slightly on gore.The topic is the public's tendency to get hooked on sadistic voyeurism,and the people who use that tendency to make money/power. Samuel L.Jackson plays the man taking advantage, and although Samuel is usuallygreat, and I would SO like to say "even Samuel's awesomeness couldn'tsave this film," I actually can't even say that. I found hisperformance here to be somewhat sub-Samuel. His heart just didn't seemin it, and for that I can not blame him too much, as the material justisn't worthy of his efforts.I'm not sure what exactly got Mr. Jackson stuck with this job, but Ihave a feeling it was a reluctant favor to first-time director JonahLoop, who handled visual effects on a couple of Sam's other films.The film progresses somewhat as one would expect, albeit with a littlewindow dressing. I found myself wanting to fast-forward often, which Itook as a bad sign. Cinematography, effects, sound, etc. were onHollywood par though, and everyone else's acting was actually prettygood (perhaps the rookie director was too intimidated by Jackson tooffer him much direction, in comparison). Hopefully, with some betterideas that everyone can actually care about, this director can pull offsome good films in the future.

David Werwolf 2012-05-13 12:37:41

Today's reality

This movie actually shows us, where the future of reality shows will be- - - Already today we have numerous reality shows, and people wantmore and more - - - - It shows how humanity didn't change - - - eventhou we are suppose to be civilized. But if you look around your self,you can see, that most people simply don't give a S%&/$ about fellowhuman - - - - The gore and is sickening, it means it is done good. Storyline ispredictable, but hey, this is not some kind of deep movie - - - - It isfor people that love this kind of gore movies - - - - It is brainlessmovie, and it is just a movie - - - Thou I am sure, they do organizethis kind of fights in the underground - - - Roman gladiatorial fights just moved in to the basement, and sewers - -- I gave it 7/10 - - - cos, even thou it is not some-kind ofexceptional movie making, it is entertaining - - - - to a certain level- - - and it is done well - - - Fights are quite realistic, fightersactually get hurt - - - and it is not SO shallow as one might expect .. . .

medlocka 2012-05-12 12:25:25

Arena directors stuff up

The movie was great but the ending completely killed what could havebeen a really great movie. NO sequel will fix the first movie or makeit any better. The producers really stuffed up on the ending. All itneeded was a another 10 minutes to bring it to the best possibleending. The movie leads to a climax which is NOT suited to a sequel andwhich will DESTROY the original movie. I give 9 out of 10 but know thatthe end if done properly would have rated 10. Why cant they get itright. It would seem that at the end , the directors where moreinterested in a sequel then in providing viewers with a really goodmovie. The performance by all actors and actresses is really good but,limited by the directors and their reproduction of the original story.I think producers rely too much on sequels today to make a movie rate10 out of 10. this came very close in my books but was destroyed in theend. We do not all want to watch sequels and this should be drummedinto producers and directors. Why kill a VERY good movie just for a fewextra dollars. A lot more could have been added but, the end version iswhat the public see, this is what counts.

miketaylor2007 2012-05-11 15:23:35

Great fun if you want to see a movie with lots of fighting and blood

This was a damn entertaining movie for the guy who loves fightingfilms. I thought Arena was great and I have nothing but good things tosay about it. Samuel knew this was really good too or he would havenever done it in the first place. I know when I turn on a fightingmovie I don't want to experience deep emotions and have myself a goodcry. I want to see a man beat another man's face in. I want brutality,I want violence, and this delivered. Seeing Samuel L Jackson play thevillain is nice for a change and he does a fantastic job. Arena is kindsimilar to The Condemned. I don't want to give away any spoilers, butgive this one a chance if you love fighting and gore. Sleepless inSeattle is for crying yourself to sleep at night, Arena is for anaction packed gorefest of fights to the death. 10/10 because it was myfavourite fight movie of 2011.

Elijah Houchins 2012-05-11 02:46:40

I over rated to compensate for the hate.

This film was pure art that most failed to recognize. If you haven'tseen the film yet, I encourage you to watch it before seeing the restmy review because realization will further enrich the film for yourather than me telling you this.The film showed sequences of people watching and making rude commentsat the gory fights which I took as a beautiful mirror that was supposedto show that you were doing the same thing. You may have related to thedisgusted girl or maybe you were more like the casually watchingbusinessman. Or maybe you didn't relate to anyone and the symbol fellon deaf ears. Irregardless, the stage design was great and the effectscomplimented it in how the bad guys used a green screen to generatetheir backdrops. The acting was great and there were few lines. I saythis as a positive since the lines used were poetic and thoughtprovoking(except the college students, although I liked how accurate itwas to reality). The use of silence was supposed to make you feeldisconnected, trapped.I have so much more good to say, but I don't want it to be toodisproportionate to the negative. The story was highly predictablesince I knew how it would end from the very beginning. The characterswere mostly flat, even the main one I would have trouble consideringround.Overall, a good film. I would consider it a guy movie, but that's mygender stereotyping kicking in. If you hate it, so be it. Don't call ita bad movie though, I've seen some pretty bad movies and this onedoesn't even come close to their level. Just don't go into it thinkingyou're about to see the best movie ever, because it has it's faults.Enjoy.

reefer420 2012-05-10 13:29:28

An entertaining low-budget action movie

I think it's safe to say the director of Arena is a fan of the Starzshow "Spartacus". This film follows a very similar formula to thosestories: Take it to the Extreme. Extreme blood. Extreme nudity. Extremesituations. Most American men will be pleased.The film opens with a hokey-looking gladiator fight being viewed byvarious people around the world. We learn that "Death Games" is anillegal online program that features real fights to the death. It's ahit with college kids and Japanese office workers around the globe. TheFBI, Interpol, and everyone else are unable to locate them and shut itdown.Our hero, David Lord (Kellen Lutz), is in a car crash with his pregnantwife, who dies. David finds himself seduced by a hot British lady,played by Katia Winter, who will no doubt find herself on the "watchlist" of many young men, as she is gorgeous,a good actress,andapparently very willing to do full-frontal nudity. If nothing else, Ithink she gives the perfect audition for the actual "Spartacus" show.Samuel L. Jackson plays the "ringleader" of the online fightingbusiness. He is delightfully over-the-top, although it is difficult toget the question of "why is he in this movie?" out of your head.Clearly he owed the director a favor or something.Amazingly, he probably gives the WORST performance of the film. Themain character, the chick, and the assorted bad guys are all prettydecent, but Sam feels a bit wooden, even when he's shouting and dancingaround. I agree with another reviewer who theorized that perhaps thedirector was a bit intimidated when directing the great Samuel L.Jackson. Still, I will give him tremendous props for agreeing to dothis movie. Nothing wrong with helping people out, and he is actuallyIN the movie, unlike many "celebrity cameo" parts in modern films wherethe big name only appears in one or two scenes.The fight scenes are a mixed bag. They are pretty bloody, but the greatfight choreography of "Spartacus" is missing. They also have anannoying "Vignette" effect on all the fights that darkens the cornersof the frame...I found it distracting. There are things that work,though. The first fight looks a little odd, but then you realize thateven "in the movie" they are meant to look a little odd, since they arefilmed in a green screen room and then given fake backgrounds. This ispart of the plot, as the fight locations change each time. One fightmight be in a "gladiator" style with swords and armor, another in a"world war I" style with trenches and bayonets. That was very cleverand well done.One thing the film does well is a bit of "fourth wall" humor.References to other movies and TV shows, including a direct referenceto "Spartacus", as well as a hilarious "Office Space" moment with atwist, really help remind the viewer that this movie is ultimatelymeant to be fun.The main character, Kellen Lutz, was a surprise. I'd never heard of theguy, but he was pretty good. You don't hate him for being a "prettyboy" since he gets himself pretty bloodied and messed up. He definitelyseems to be channeling the late, great Andy Whitfield from "Spartacus"with his cold stares and angry, slow-motion screaming; he even kind oflooks like Andy.As I mentioned earlier, Katia Winter stole the show with her FemmeFatale character. Despite the fact that after her third nude scene evenI was questioning exactly WHY she needed to be in the buff so much, Ienjoyed the hell out of her performance, even when clothed! She has theperfect "evil Bond girl that turns good" attitude, and I predict we'llbe seeing a lot more of her in the future.The director, Jonah Loop, is a veteran special effects producer on manybig movies. Despite the low-budget, it's evident there is talent behindthe camera. The movie is very well shot and edited, to the point whereyou actually forget the "low-budge" origins at times. It's really onlythe fight scenes that look a little hokey. I'd say the guy did a greatjob with what he had, and I certainly will check out his futureefforts.If you are a fan of shows like "Spartacus" or movies like "Gamer", thisis one you should check out. If nothing else, I guarantee you will notbe bored.

Tony Heck 2012-05-10 20:14:43

Death Race 6...this time with Sam Jackson and no cars. Not a bad movie, but I'm getting burnt out on this idea. I say B-.

"What's the one thing we all have in common?...Death." After a tragicaccident leaves his wife dead, David (Lutz) is picked to take part in a"game". This game involves two men fighting to the death. When Davidagrees to do it in exchange for his freedom, the creator (Jackson) hasother plans. My theory of movies lately are that there are no originalideas anymore. Recently it seems like it's either a remake, sequel,comic book or a rehash of a movie that has been done. Counting thismovie, 13 and Freerunner there are now 4 movies released recently thatsteal from "Death Race". While I did see the others first it may haveskewed my judgment but this was much slower then I was expecting. Theplot is...take a guy with no family, force him to fight and kill forhis freedom while the evil creator watches. Very predictable and isreally only worth watching for the fighting and nudity. On the otherhand, why else would you watch this anyway? Overall, not a bad movie,but the plot is starting to get old and over used. That makes it losethe excitement and impact. Because of un-originality I give it a B-.Would I watch again? - Not this one...but again I'm sure next monthanother version will come out.*Also try - Gamer & Death Race 1 & 2

mattga1 2012-05-10 06:38:31

a decent film

when i started to watch this movie, i figured it had some potential andit would build up to be a good movie. but after the second half of thisfilm it starts to get boring. although the acting is decent, thefighting is actually pretty good and the blood effects were well done.but when this film reaches the second half, it starts to become lessentertaining and looks quiet fake and just plain stupid. honestly, thefinal fight with the executioner on some sand? that was just plainidiotic, especially the part where you find out when David lord (KellanLutz) is actually a special agent. this movie had some good potentialand some exciting scenes but towards the end, it just seems to go down.6/10i would have probably given it a five, if it didn't have Johnny Messnerand Samuel Jackson, those two are good actors.

phd_travel 2012-05-09 00:49:04

Way too violent - what are the stars doing in this?

Watched this DVD because it had a good cast: Samuel L Jackson, KellanLutz and I am a fan of Nina Dobrev. Nina hardly acts a few minutes.Samuel - did you read the script? Kellan this is not the way to build acareer.People are captured and forced to fight to the death for onlineentertainment. This is a terrible movie. The violence is just sosickening. It's an example of how wrong action movies can get. Thestory is weak and you don't care for any of the characters. Therepeated violence is disgusting. I don't see how anyone could beentertained by it. Please don't watch this sickening movie. It shouldnever have been made.

snivellinggit 2012-05-08 13:19:03

Retardedly awful

The movie was merely okay for the first 20 minutes or so. Totallypredictable and cliché, but watchable. At the point the the maincharacter, who's only claim to fame is being a marine widower kills thekendo master in a katana duel, the movie just got moronic. From theevil villainess's change of heart that would rival the idiocy of theBaroness falling for Duke, to the terrible montage glossing over themore interesting looking fight scenes, the movie robs the viewer of anyentertainment, despite the pornographic violence and the T&A.Sam Jackson knocks it out the park with his contemptuous performance.It's clearly a mailed in effort, which is all this movie deserves.

xmanuchox 2012-05-07 08:09:22

Blah blah blah

After reading all the reviews, I felt that most people watched themovie as if they were voting for an Academy Award... this is NOT aboutthat.This is about fights, about blood, is like a classic 80's or mid 90'saction/martial arts movie. With a pretty much obvious script (altoughin the final 20 minutes there's a twist I didn't expect), and thefighters being "ordinary people" I think is a pretty good movie towatch and have fun. The way they dealt with the fact that was a lowbudget movie, using the green screen as part of the history was prettysmart.Anyways, If you are looking for something to lay on the coach and justhave fun, and you like Bloodsport type of movies, watch it. If you arelooking for Casablanca, keep walking....

FlashCallahan 2012-05-07 03:48:50

James Remar isn't my dad?

Basically a hybrid of The Running Man, Death Race, Gamer, and bloodsport, all hosted by the friendly, maniacal Jackson on autopilot.The story isn't very good, but it involves someone who was in Twilight,his wife gets killed (who is pregnant), and he kills them all.Take your eyes away from the screen for an instant, and he's soon inthis sort of gladiatorial game where people watching on the web, decideif the assailants get killed or survive.If this guy can survive ten bouts, he's a free man.It's a highly un-original movie, with not many saving graces.The action looks like it's taken from the worst parts of '300', and theacting isn't up to much.The saving grace is Jackson, who despite being on autopilot, is alwayswatchable.Thismovie is pointless, and suffers from the crime of being downrightboring.