Have Your Redbelt Criticisms Refuted Here

"why not pay him off to begin with, and save the trouble of blackmailing him?"

Because that would be as good as admitting that they owe him royalties for the idea. Clearly the promoters weren't stupid enough to give away their hand, unlike someone else here (not pointing any fingers).

"...true, but neither would these hard-core samurai fighters, none of whom seem to have a problem besmirching the honor of the sport."

Who said they were ALL "hard-core samurai fighters". I don't think undercard fighters are generally gonna have much say in what is and isn't honorable in an organized fight. They're just trying to make a buck and a name.

"...and if it's so dishonorable, what does that say about the guy who came up with it and uses it in his teachings?"

He didn't come up with it. The samurai did. Next time you watch a movie, it might pay to pay attention. He used it for training, not competition. I can't imagine how you connect that to dishonor.

"of course they had the bullet shell. they had pictures of it. they also knew whose fingerprints were on it. what, they took photos, dusted it, threw it away, and THEN tried to use it in a blackmail?"

They had pictures of A shell. Could a been a CSI MIAMI prop for all you or anyone else knows. They knew whose prints were on it because the wife told them who the shell belonged to. It is possible they had the shell, but there's nothing to verify it but their claims. Which is why the lawyer didn't believe them... because she's a shade brighter than you and the dead cop.

"dude, screw the belts, the COPS would've busted that thing up waaay before mike could get to the stage."

He already took out all the security. And I highly doubt the fight promoters wanted the police involved in their little dispute over rigged fights. Even without that, you expect too much of your local police force.

"neither the stolen watch nor the gun incident at school had any bearing on the idea being stolen. and yet, it had to have been set up earlier, or else why would mike's wife have told about the gun incident? i mean seriously, imagine that phone call...because that is literally what would've had to have happen for this NOT to be a con. bottom line?"

Fail. Seriously, you need to pay more attention at the movies or stick to Disney features. Since you have no idea what happens in a movie unless it is spelled out for you, I'll help you connect the dots on this one:

Wife owes money to sharks. Can't repay. Husband is unhelpful. She quite naturally goes to her brother, who is in league with said sharks. She asks for help. Explains about the borrowed money, her husband's deal with movie star going sour, her deal with movie star's wife going sour as a result, all her other debts, husband's useless jujitsu center, broken windows; brother puts two and two together (cause he can read between the lines, unlike some), realizes this might be helpful with his FIGHT PROMOTION DEAL THAT THAT IDIOT MIKE IS MESSING UP! He gets the whole story out of her. Do you now have any idea who HIS next phonecall was to?

HELLO??? McFLY???

Like I said, it was not elaborate. His wife called the hollywood manager? Did you even know til now that her brothers were the people setting up the rigged fights with the fat fight promoter?

Like I said: fail. But thanks for playing.

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It's a movie. It's not, nor is it meant to be, real life!

[deleted]

EDIT: I think I replied to the wrong post, but what the heck...


The whole fabric thing was simply Chet and his wife dropping Terry and his wife like toys they no longer want play with, probably under instruction from Chet's manager. The point being: The movie industry is corrupt and without honour, and people like Terry get shafted.

Chet was alone in the bar because he was a drunk and wanted to get into a fight because he hates his life, hates who he is. Terry saves him and Chet tries to pay him back the only way he knows how: get him into the movie business because hey, that what everyone wants. Money. Fame.

The manager gives him a hot watch because that the esteem he holds Terry in. The watch represents the corruption of Hollywood. How would they know that Terry would give the watch away?

Think about what happened. A cop has been suspended over the bent watch. A cop. The manager needs to get himself and Chet as far away from Terry and that watch as possible. Hence Chet vanishes and his wife stops taking calls.

The fight industry is corrupt and steals his idea. When they see that Terry could actually try and sue them (they are at a meeting with Terry and a lawer, that meeting had to be prearranged), they need leverage. Chet's manager is the link as to how the fight industry got to steal his marble thing. That is all. Once he appears, the lawer thinks they can prove they stole the idea. So the bullet incident comes to light.

(I am stumped as to how they get so much information, though. Perhaps the cop told them and betrayed Terry, hence the sucide?)

Later, when he finds further corruption within the fight game, again, money is the solution. They offer him a fixed fight in return where he can get 50k.

I don't see any big conspiracy, because ultimately, why would they want Terry to fight? He is a unknown, not some big name that would generate ticket revenue or sponsorship. They just want him to go away.

[deleted]

I would have bust a cap in my head at the beginning of the film, if I was the copper married to that grotbags.
When she was moaning about money and saying "who's gonna pay the bills Mike?"
Made me want to punch her lights out. I've never dreamt of hitting a woman before but she would get a body punch at least lol.

Actually I'm not so sure that Joe committed suicide. I think it's a little ambiguous.

Re: cop's suicide.
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I fear you don't know what a plot hole is, jrcharming. Weak motivation for a character's actions does not a plot hole make. Also, the motivation for the guy's suicide was not weak, though your reading of the character may well be.

It was established early that the cop was having marital problems; plobably heading for divorce. It was also established that he didn't have all that much heart. During training, he gave up his sparring matches when it got tough. As you pointed out, he let the mobster owners of the bar he worked at screw him round on his pay. Your claim that he was a strong character has no backing. He's no Dirt Diver.

He also had more than just the shooting incident to worry about. He'd been done for hocking a stolen watch. Suspended and possibly gonna lose his badge - for sure if word of the shooting incident gets to his betters (which the fight promoters were threatening to do) - and already he had to work second jobs to make ends meet. With the wife already considering leaving him because there's "not enough steaks in the freezer," the film gives more than enough motivation for his suicide.

My only complaint about his suicide is that he was gullible enough to believe the fight promoters' claims of evidence, but, as has been shown, he wasn't the strongest of characters. Mike said he was gonna fix the watch problem. Then, all of a sudden, he hears that evidence of the shooting incident may come to light. Goodbye badge. Goodbye pension. Hello dishonorable discharge. He cracked under too much pressure. A lot of people do.

As for the wife complaining about the bills, I guess you've never heard of subtext. She is not complaining about the bills. She is complaining about her dead husband, something she perceives (arguably rightly) Terry to have caused. People don't generally say what they mean. If a high school student had written the script, quite probably she would have been moaning, "You killed my husband! You killed my husband!" This would make for poorly written dialogue, but I guess it would save you some confusion.

You also don't know if she would be an immediate mess or not. Her husband was just found dead. People in a state of shock are often relatively calm. She wasn't worried about the bills, she was just saying the first thing that came to her mind while attempting to impart to Terry that he has royally screwed up her day.

Seriously, if one can't read between the lines of a dramatic exchange (something most people do instinctively), it's best to say, "I don't get it," and maybe have someone fill you in. You're not gonna come off too clever announcing, "Oh, this dialogue is so silly; it doesn't make any sense." Better to say nothing and have people think you a fool...

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It's a movie, people! It's not, nor is it meant to be, real life!