The Tournament (2009)

One of my all time favorites.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Powers (Cunningham) is the mastermind behind THE TOURNAMENT - an event where the best assassins in the world vie to kill each other to become the number one killer - and rake in a ten million dollar prize. Unsuspecting priest Father MacAvoy (Carlyle) becomes embroiled in all the craziness when he accidentally swallows a tracking device meant for the competitors (and will explode after 24 hours). Lai Lai Zhen (Hu) takes him under her wing in order to protect him, which will be necessary with psychos like Miles Slade (Somerhalder) on their tail. Of course, last year's winner, Joshua Harlow (Rhames) returns - but what are his true motives? Who will be victorious in THE TOURNAMENT? The Tournament is a lot of fun and never anything less than totally entertaining. It's professionally and competently made, which gives the action, fun, and thrills a solidity that captivates the audience. While there is a satisfying amount of very cool, comic-book violence, there's also a nice upbeat feel and some humorous dialogue. Like The Raid (2011), it's essentially one feature-length action scene, interspersed with short interstitial bits of exposition that move the plot along before propelling into the next action setpiece. It's all very winning and audience pleasing. Add to that a great pace and plenty of surprises, and you can't lose.The premise - a bunch of assassins vying to kill each other, with a likable innocent caught in the middle of it all - is a can't-lose proposition for the audience and, thankfully - and unusually - it actually lives up to its potential. The killer plot idea is wonderfully brought to life by a colorful cast of characters and fan favorites. Robert Carlyle is endearing as MacAvoy, and we get to see "action Ving Rhames", mixing it up with the best of them, which we loved seeing. We also loved that fan favorite Scott Adkins was involved, though, like a lot of others in the tournament, his time is necessarily limited. We understand. Kelly Hu made a top-notch "good assassin", a perfect mirror image to Somerhalder's "boo-hiss" evil assassin. Capping it all off is the charisma of Liam Cunningham as Powers, putting a focus to all the chaotic goings-on.Sure, we've seen similar plots before - even David Heavener fell victim to the "shady underground putting up cash and watching participants kill each other" situation, as has Robert Z'Dar and Jeff Wincott - in Fugitive X (1996), Dragonfight (1990), and Fatal Combat (1995), respectively - but The Tournament has so much verve it makes it all seem fresh. The individuals in the tournament each have clearly defined identities, as action movies used to have (i.e. Shootfighter, etc.) so it never becomes amorphous and hard to follow. Commendably, CGI seems to be kept to a minimum as well, reinforcing the old-school feel.All the elements come together nicely, from the action scenes, fights, blow-ups, slo-mo moments (we'd say "slo-moments", but we don't want anyone to think there are any slow moments), and it's all pretty over the top and somewhat cartoonish, in a good way. For example, we learned if you want to get a grenade away from you, you can just shoot it with a handgun. The image of shooting a grenade with a gun pretty much sums up The Tournament - modern-day meta-violence, and slightly ridiculous - but it's all for the fans and you gotta love it.

I am in love with Ian Somerhalder, so my goal is to watch all of his films. I loved this movie! This film was full of action. I enjoyed the storyline. I actually didn't know if this movie was going to be any good, but I was pleasantly surprised.I liked that they used a priest and an assassin to form a relationship. They needed each other and it was perfect.Miles Slade, played by Ian, was a complete ASSassin. I didn't like his character because he was one of the worst ones! I really hated when he shot that poor innocent dog. It was unnecessary.But all in all, this movie was badass. :)

THE TOURNAMENT is another in the string of films 'inspired' by the success of BATTLE ROYALE which feature armed opponents battling each other to the death in a specific location. The difference? This time around, that location happens to be Middlesborough, of all places! Middlesbrough is a run-down city in the north of England that just so happens to be famous for…well, absolutely nothing. So the choice to have it as the film's setting is unusual, to say the least, and seeing Hollywood stars prowling the streets is nothing if not incongruous. But then THE TOURNAMENT is a slightly quirky British production, so we shouldn't be too surprised.As for how this all stands as a film, it comes across as a mix between THE CONDEMNED and DEATH RACE and offers little we haven't seen before (aside from the setting, of course). Robert Carlyle plays a boozy priest (is there any other kind in the movies?) who unwittingly becomes caught up in a battle between the world's greatest assassins. The storyline is paper thin so the filmmakers wisely choose to focus on the action instead, which is pretty good.The various set-pieces are explosive and ultra-violent, seemingly designed to showcase the latest effects technology of human bodies exploding into clouds of splattery gore. The camera-work isn't too shoddy, as at least we can see some of what's going on, unlike in many modern-day shaky-cam action flicks. The actors playing the assassins are a fun assortment, ranging from pretty heroine Kelly Hu to martial arts supremo Scott Adkins (sadly underutilised) and CASINO ROYALE's parkour enthusiast Sebastien Foucan. Carlyle gives good value for money as always and it's always a pleasure to see Liam Cunningham in a film, although his role as this film's villain is fairly pathetic. Ving Rhames gives a typically larger than life turn in an extended cameo.Things pick up for the ludicrous but entertaining climax, which manages to drag in a classic double-decker bus for some high-speed action before the strictly routine ending. And it's true, you know; THE TOURNAMENT is predictable in the extreme, offering absolutely nothing that hasn't already been done (and done better). But you know what? I enjoyed it. It's not something you'll want to watch more than once, but as an example of adult-orientated action cinema it works.

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