This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
A Man Of Conscience
Plot Overview
The mob back east having been disappointed
with boxing decides to expand. They've commissioned their go-to man
Nick (Elya Baskin) to check out California as a prospect for pit fighting.
He taps wealthy, nightclub owner Argento (Armand Assante) to
set up a trial run in East L.A..
Argento enlists a “vato named Lucky” (Flavor Flav) as his “veterano fight
promoter” who in turn finds Matador—Spanish for killer—(Quinton
‘Rampage’ Jackson) for a draw sensation. In the pit Matador
sends contenders Rico (Rigan Machado) on “a lengthy vacation”
and pretty boy David (Rick Medina) to an early grave (“Argento
had David killed.”) So far so good.
David's ex-con brother Eddie Castillo (Hector Echavarria) had come up as a fighter on the streets, got busted for illegal pit fighting, and honed his skills while in prison. He wants to wreak vengeance on those responsible for his brother's death, but Argento is protected by Ivan a shifty-eyed bodyguard. He enters the pit-fighting circuit to get close.
When he learns
that David's widowed wife Angel (Yvonne Arias) is expecting, he modifies
his goals to provide for her from his winnings. 
An Irish priest Father Mark (Richard Herd) tries to persuade him
to leave vengeance to God. His parole officer tells him he's keeping
an eye on him. And Argento's girlfriend Gizelle (Gizelle D'Cole)
has her own plans for him. When he also realizes he may be
overmatched against Matador, he forswears fighting. But he's
“got two mouths to feed and another one on the way.”
Ideology
When Angel has her kid, that baby is going
to be needy—all babies are. A retired fighter has his own needs.
Trainer Sharkey (James Russo) explains, “I drank myself to a
slow death. I'm too old, now. I got arthritis in my knees and my
arm.” The crying demands of infancy and senility are represented
in, (Prov. 30:15) “The
horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.”
(Prov. 30:15-16) “There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.” The grave never stops welcoming occupants as more people march into it be it through old age or an untimely death. And women are likely to get knocked up through their child-bearing years. This makes for a lot of persons needing care at either end of their life spectrums. The parole officer tells Eddie he has “been on the force for twenty years, and what do I have to show for it? A beat-up sedan, an ex-wife and a couple of burning ulcers. I was thinking maybe you and I could be like partners … 60/40.”
What water they have in
California to slosh around in is gathered into concrete swimming pools
so it's not lost to “the earth that is not filled with water.”
That leaves solid ground to work whether in agriculture or industry.
(Job 28:4-5) “The flood breaketh
out from the inhabitant; even the waters forgotten of the foot: they
are dried up, they are gone away from men. As for the earth, out of
it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.”
Eddie works as a grease monkey to fulfill the conditions of his parole,
and needing more income, he's “making a ton of money pit
fighting.”
“The fire that saith not, It is
enough” is here seen in the altar candles that are perpetually
burning. Sure, they all burn through eventually, but they get replaced.
That's like human metabolism, a fire that always burns although the
individual players in whom it blazes get replaced. We see Angel making
breakfast for herself and bringing some to Eddie (“He's
gotta eat”) to fuel their engines.
Production Values
“” (2005) was directed
by Art Camacho. It was written by Art Camacho and R. Ellis Frazier.
The cast boasts Emmy® Award
winner Armand Assante (Hoffa, “Gotti,”) Flavor
Flav (MTV's “Flavor
of Love,”) Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (Former UFC
champion,) Hector Echavarria, World Martial Arts Champion, Latin Pop Star
Giselle D'Cole, and World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champions Rigan and Jigan
Machado. Hector Echavarria was the lead; he managed to muddle through. It
starred Armand Assante, James Russo and Flavor Flav. The acting was neither
disappointing nor impressive, just good enough to get the job done.
It was rated R for violence, language and some sexuality/nudity. The photography was all closeups or short distance except for the jogging footage and shots of a freeway seen through a chain link fence where the focus alternated between short and long. This results in the viewer having to fill in large swaths of set in his mind. But that's okay because the fight scenes were largely implicit as well, requiring a good dollop of imagination to match partial visual to emphatic sound. Only minor wounds are displayed. Many of the strikes are served up in stuttering repeats. There is no small amount of clever camera work here. It's 1½ hours long and easy to follow.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
This was a morality play with stage fighting. In it an Irish priest stands firm for Christ while an ex-con teeters between his old life and a potential better one while being pulled by various influences. The action is mitigated by heavy editing, so it doesn't overwhelm philosophical reflection. It's a better film than I thought it would be, but it doesn't rise to the level of a masterpiece. See it if it suits your taste.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Well done action flick. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Well done special effects. Video Occasion: Good Date Movie. Suspense: A few suspenseful moments. Overall movie rating: Three stars out of five.
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