I agree completely with you. I thought the film was great, and I really liked the ending as well. I found myself perplexed though, while watching the parts leading up to the climax, after he found out the fight was rigged in HIS favor.
I didn't know what he would do. I didn't feel like he'd fight, because there's no honor in winning when it's fixed. BUT he was guaranteed the $50K which he needed badly, and which was the ONLY reason he was there.
Before they told him he was fixed to win, I personally thought that the end would be him fighting in the ring, with both hands tied down, fixed that way to punish him for the entire "watch" incident. They showed the scene in the beginning with Joe the cop fighting with both hands tied, so I thought that was a foreshadow of the final fight. Mike fighting against the odds and against the fix of the promoters, but somehow prevailing in the end.
The only holes or questions for me in the ending, lay with the cop's wife's situation and Richard, the guy his wife borrowed the money from. I certainly understand that after his wife betrayed him, he wouldn't care about her debt, but the guy she borrowed it from, seemed to be a friend of his, or at least they had a good relationship, and in their conversation you could see his fear in that it wasn't his $30K to loan out, but rather his "people" he worked for. I guess one could conclude that since the wife got back in cahootz with Tim Allen's wife, that she'd then be able to pay it back.
But there's also the cop's wife and her bills. He felt responsible for her situation and was determined to help her by winning the prize money. After all, the ONLY reason he was fighting was for the money, so that he could help those around him who were in financial trouble as a direct result of his actions.
After everything that occurred within the arena, while yes, he got an enormous amount of respect for his out-of-the-ring skills and result against the champion fighter, he was still walking away with no money at all which was a bummer. So no help for the cop's wife and her bills.
It didn't bother me THAT much though! : )
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actionfilm-2
16 years ago
Like everybody else I'll offer a few thoughts on the subject. Mike chose to fight for the prize money, yes, but his reason for being there was to help others. As you say, his discovery of the scheme certainly negated his desire to bail out his wife to whom the lions share of the prize money would have went. As for his loan shark friend who got the money from supposedly the mob or some other unsavory types, Mike probably assumed he was paid off by his brother in law or as you mentioned a result of the on again deal with Tim Allen's wife.
But as you may imagine, Mike's view of the widow situation would not have changed. He would've certainly found a way to help her as he was not adverse to making money, he was adverse to certain manners in which it was made. As they say "the road to hell is paved with good intentions", so if Mike had showed up at the event and been told he was guaranteed 50 k if he earned it in any way other than a clean manner his reaction would have beeen the same. He had already weighed financially rescuing his wife and helping the widow against his objection to competitive fighting and decided to bend as the results would be positive. But the news of his wife's betrayal and of a rigged fight, even in his favor, was the determining factor in his walking away from 50 k. By doing so his principals remained intact and though helping the widow may have been set aside for the moment, the intention and ability remained.
Your plot idea of handicapping Mike is one I'm sure must've occured to Mamet, would have made for an interesting "alternate" ending.
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