Rumble (2016) - Gary Daniels

[AlbertV]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YNY6lHa_6iw/U8kPejJpRLI/AAAAAAAAL_M/FOId0ZD5Ypw/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/Rumble+-+2

Those who were disappointed with the last collaboration between Gary Daniels and director R. Ellis Frazier, Misfire, may get a bit of redemption depending on your taste. In this film, Daniels plays David Goran, a former MMA champion who has resorted to fixing fights in Mexico to pay a debt to the ex-boyfriend pimp of his girlfriend Eva (Sissi Fleitas). When she is kidnapped, he is forced to fight in the "Bullpen Fight Club" against various opponents and must win to rescue her. Meanwhile, a federal agent (Luis Gatica) is investigating the recent findings of dead fighters and it looks as through David and agent have a common enemy. Things get worse when the ex-boyfriend has arrived demanding his money as well. 

The action is definitely not on a Scott Adkins level, but if you liked Daniels' American 90's flicks, the fights are more akin to those with Daniels and Marco Morales serving as fight choreographers. Daniels gets to do some trademark kicks and chain punches, but adds in some grappling to his arsenal when necessary. Some nice twists and turns in the story as well. Overall, don't expect anything like today's MA films, but it has the nostalgic feel of a 90's B-movie IMO.

The film is now on Netflix. 

[ShaOW!linDude]

On 9/19/2017 at 9:23 AM, AlbertV said:

Those who were disappointed with the last collaboration between Gary Daniels and director R. Ellis Frazier, Misfire, may get a bit of redemption depending on your taste.  

The action is definitely not on a Scott Adkins level, but if you liked Daniels' American 90's flicks, the fights are more akin to those with Daniels and Marco Morales serving as fight choreographers. Daniels gets to do some trademark kicks and chain punches, but adds in some grappling to his arsenal when necessary. Some nice twists and turns in the story as well. Overall, don't expect anything like today's MA films, but it has the nostalgic feel of a 90's B-movie IMO.

The film is now on Netflix. 

I stuck this in my Netflix queue when I saw it. Might give it a watch Saturday night. I'm down for some solid 90's MA/B movie action. Always liked Daniels. He typically does solid stuff. And "disappointed" is not the adjective I would use to describe how I felt about Misfire. That movie should have titled "Dud".

[ShaOW!linDude]

In the original post @AlbertV pretty much nailed the synopsis on this, so there's no need for my redundancy there.

This is a really good action film. The plot is fairly solid, though there are a few weak spots. The little twist at the end works. I think it could have been set up better as it almost feels like a thrown in afterthought. The supporting cast is quite good.

I will say this movie has it all over Misfire. The choreography seems a bit slowed down and deliberate, which actually works here. Don't get me wrong, Daniels brings the speed when he wants, I'm just talking about the overall feel of the fights, until the very end. The last fight is a bit more dynamic. Some of his trademark kicks appear throughout, but he's not demonstrating the bootwork of his early career here. As a choreographer, he shows a certain sensibility in staging his fights, and you can tell he's trying to bring a little something different to each of them. So if you're a Daniels fan, I believe you'll really dig this effort. I know I did, and I'll be looking to score the dvd at some point, because there are some rewatchable moments during a few of the fights that I'd like to give closer scrutiny.

 

[slinky#1]

I just saw this on netflix. Gary Daniels still has the moves there isn't much here, but it is something. (Takes me back) Just thought i would post fyi, if like Gary. Probably already knew about this, but when i searched didn't see anything so. : )

RUMBLE:

With Gary Daniels, Sissi Fleitas, Eddie J. Fernandez, Luis Gatica. Rumble revolves around an aging and injured former MMA champ (Gary Daniels) who is forced back into a deadly Mexican underground fight circuit to save is girlfriend (Sissi Fleitas) who is kidnapped by a mysterious cartel leader and criminal mastermind.

 

If it is already on here just delete my thread. thx

[DrNgor]

I watched this tonight. Despite the grappling and MMA flourishes in the fighting (choreographed by Gary Daniels himself), the pacing and general staging is very early 90s. He was about 53 when he made this and you can tell he was beginning to slow down a little. That said, he does get to perform some nice aerial boots on a few occasions, including a double jumping back kick. We don't expect him to get the height on it that Vincent Zhao did in The Blacksheep Affair or that Donnie did in Tiger Cage 2, but we're certainly glad it's there. I do have to wonder how his fight with a pimp could be harder (in execution) than the fight witht he mountain of muscle he fights in his last illegal bout.

As a throwback to early 90s DTV martial arts films, Rumble is a serviceable effort. Some reveals are predictable. But then there is the last-minute twist, which is so out of left field that I couldn't believe it. And if you try reconciling the twist with certain subplots, you'll probably get a headache before declaring that it simply doesn't make sense. And, well, the villain's scheme does seem predicated on a number of assumptions that could have gone awry in numerous ways.

While watching the end credits, I was surprised to see that the movie had so many Executive Producers. The film both looks and feels cheap, which is not a problem. If the budget was indeed limited, I think they did what they could without going into budgetary overreach. However, the presence of so many producers makes me wonder if this movie wasn't crowd-funded or something.

[DrNgor]

I revisited this and did a full review for the blog: https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2024/06/rumble-2017.html