Underground (2007)

Touches You

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

A different way of telling a story

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

First the basics. The premise of this movie is of UT fighting world, yet consistently fails to deliver. The characters are unrealistic and lack any basic level depth to give the viewer the slightest chance to pick a side. Fight scenes are as unrealistic as can possibly be and the locations make no sense what-so-ever. For a movie of an hour and a half, I would have suggested 4 fighters and not 12. This movie fails to tell the story of the UT fight world.On the other hand the movie and its writer, director, producer, financiers and everyone in between tell another story all together. The crumbling of British ideals and the British society in itself. We have a group of servants of the public, a Solder, Police Officer, Female Teacher, a Pastor. All of whom are defeated by criminals, bums and minorities in a hateful and disturbing manner. Is this a personal vindication of the creators of this film? or is it an idealogical insight in to the coming demise of what was one the great British Empire? Chaos, criminals, minorities and the hard working people are thrown to the curb. Is it a sad and true story or a hateful story? I will leave that for you to decide.

In homage to classic 1980s action cinema, Underground follows the story of twelve individual fighters brought together to compete in an illegal underground tournament for the grand prize of £500,000. Throughout the gruelling competition each fighter will be pushed to their physical and psychological limits as they make and break alliances, fuelled by the goal of eliminating the competition.Broken from the same mould as martial arts classics like Kickboxer and Blood Fist, Underground is a relentless, adrenaline-fuelled fight fest that takes no prisoners. Following the simple story of twelve underground fighters competing for a cash prize, the unique characters and their individual stories are told through strong characterization and flashback, thrown against some of the most brutal action sequences witnessed in a long time.Also featuring a strong cast of up and coming British action stars like Mark Strange (Displaced, Batman Begins), Joey Ansah (The Bourne Ultimatum) and Nathan Lewis (Fight School, Kick Ass), the talented team is shown in an incredible light under the heavily visual style of director, Chee Keong Cheung. For fans of martial arts and action cinema, generally, Underground is a ground breaking addition to a hugely successful genre. A must-see for true martial arts fans!

It is exactly what it states that it is - a fighting movie. The choreographed fighting is very good. These men and women are usually hidden in films - playing only background parts.(Appearing in Batman etc). It is refreshing to see a film in which the talented martial arts specialist are the main attractions. I think that this is especially true when you consider that this is a British film - made in Britain! Lets hear it for this film!!!!!! The stunts performed leave the audience in no doubt of the talent of these actors and actresses. The settings whilst not glam America are apt for the nature of the film. The actors who fulfil the roles are exactly right for the parts. The dialogue is appropriate and necessary to the plot line and provides much more information than can be supplied simply through the film. (P>S I may be biased as my daughter stars in this film - as Mark the homeless daughter).

This is a solid, well shot and enjoyable film, that delivers EXACTLY what it's supposed to.I can't fathom why people are criticizing the script, acting etc. What the hell are you doing watching THIS type of film if that's the only thing you're worried about?! This is a straight up no nonsense ACTION film, and it delivers exactly what it promises. REAL BRUTAL ACTION!! I can't recall the last time I saw so many fight scenes so realistically shot and put together in a film. Of course, you see the odd one now and again in big budget Hollywood and Hong Kong stuff that looks great, but this is a low budget British film for Christ's sake!! Give these guys some credit! They did an amazing job and should be applauded for it! And to the poster on the message boards who said this was the worst script ever, that has to be the most inaccurate statement ever made! Out of all the appallingly bad films you can find right here on IMDb, you choose THIS as your worst script ever?! A film that does not pretend to be anything it's not and does what it set out to do better than any other film of it's type I can recall seeing in years should be heaped with praise, not criticized.I think some people just seem to have missed the point of this film entirely. If you want depth, proper characterization and eloquent rich dialogue, you're in entirely the wrong place. Go over to the Pride & Prejudice page and post there instead...