“American Fighter’ Theatrical Poster
Director: Shaun Paul Piccinino
Cast: Tommy Flanagan, Sean Patrick Flanery, George Kosturos, Christina Moore, Allison Paige
Running Time: 98 min.
By Martin Sandison
One of the prototype underground fighting films is Hard Times, Walter Hill’s testosterone-fuelled gritty classic with Charles Bronson as the man fallen on tough times who must fight to survive. American Fighter feels much closer to Hard Times than any other recent films in the same genre such as the Never Back Down series, and the characters are echoes across time of the ones that Bronson and Coburn immortalised. Where that film had a raw feel with a grimy 70’s aesthetic, American Fighter is pretty glossy and stylised, and draws influence from other stalwarts such as the original Karate Kid. The spin is that
the protagonist is of Persian descent, and the backdrop of war in the early 80’s is an interesting one. The film also scores points for making you feel for its characters; but missing some for the style in which the fights are choreographed.
Ali Jahani (George Kosturos, American Wrestler) is a young Iranian man who has taken up a scholarship in America to go to college, right in the midst of the Iran/Iraq war during the early 80’s. His parents are on the way to visit him, when tragedy strikes and his mother must return to Iran suffering from cancer. Ali must raise the funds to help her, the only way he finds is to take part in underground fighting run by McClellen (Tommy Flanagan). Soon he is in too deep, and must train to take on the ultimate fight.
American Fighter is best described as a hybrid between the previously mentioned Hard Times and The Karate Kid. Ali’s character draws many parallels with Daniel-San, from being a fish-out-of-the-water kid to falling for a college girl, replete with romantic montage. McClellen is much like Coburn in Hill’s film, but reveals a dark heart as the film progresses. A side character Duke (Sean Patrick Flanery, Powder) becomes Ali’s real mentor, as he trains him to take on a Muay Thai fighter in the films climax.
So far, so very throwback. The aforementioned romantic montage, and the training montage, make the film have a very 80’s feel, and this is no bad or cringey thing. The film hits the right notes when it comes to combining this style and being polished, with reasonably high production values. Those looking for cool fights like those in the Undisputed series will have to look elsewhere, however; combat here is gritty and the short, with standard styles on display and little flair in filmic style or performances. This feeds into the films characters, however, as they are brawlers with little training. And it’s in the fleshing out of character and in acting performance where the film shines.
Kosturos reprises his role from the film American Wrestler, a movie I can’t comment on as I’ve not seen it, but from write ups American Fighter takes up where it left off. The original was apparently based on real events, something I’m not sure Fighter is considering it’s basis in underground fighting. Kosturos does a decent job of communicating his characters conflicting emotions, from sadness at the plight of his family to anxiety at the circumstances he finds himself in. Flanagan you may recognise as Mculloch from the series Wu Assassins, one I didn’t continue (I found it cringeworthy and bad) so I’m not sure how he was in it. Hailing from where I write these words in Glasgow, Scotland, he’s carved out a nice career and is suitably menacing and watchable as McClellen in American Fighter. The real heart of the movie surprised me as at first he is a side character. That would be Sean Patrick Flanery’s Duke. His story is very close to Miyagi’s, and despite not approaching the brilliance of Pat Morita’s performance, Flanery is soulful and grizzled as Duke. You really root for both Duke and Ali, and I felt myself emotionally tied to them, willing them to win even though it’s a given. For me that’s when you know characters in these types of films are well-written.
Unfortunately the film has a by-the-numbers narrative we’ve seen a million times before, and the standard execution of the fights let the film down a little. What raises the film up is the deviation in terms of plot device, and the depth of its characters. Upon watching the trailer I was struck by the idea of an Iranian man in America pushed to underground fighting, especially during a war that had such ramifications for the people of both nations, and the subsequent American involvement. Director and writer Shaun Paul Piccino shows courage to attempt such a depiction, and with his hand American Fighter succeeds in being a throwback style movie with some depth.
Martin Sandison’s Rating: 6.5/10
Damn, thought that was Michael Worth on the poster ..