Anyone familiar with Mamet will be on the lookout for the hidden motive, the invisible pattern, the controlling intelligence. Even when there's none there. You can almost believe that the writer-director, himself a purple belt in jiu-jitsu, came to the subject through life rather than through movies, and that he had never seen and studied his countless predecessors and competitors. Almost. There is nothing slack, formulaic, on-autopilot about the unfoldment of the plot

Terrific performances all around, especially from Ejiofor. Mamet wisely takes a philosophical approach, rather than making a formulaic fight flick, and shelves his usual twists and trickery for a story that's human and honest. (Still, the fight scenes are pretty cool.)

A very interesting movie with which it wasn't something that I was expecting. This had quite and cast that worked pretty well. It was good seeing Tim Allen doing something a little different. Even though many people didn't like the ending, I didn't mind it.

It's pretty obvious David Mamet doesn't know a thing about MMA and tries too hard to add in his own stylistic interpretation. Unfortunately his too cool for school noir scriptwriting doesn't jive well with the world of MMA. There are some truly ludicrous fight and plot setups in this movie and one of the most cliche endings ever. This could have been so much more..

Cool movie, but kind of disappointing and anti-climactic ending.

Mamet likes con jobs, but here I like the suggestion that the person who strives for a pure life of excellence and integrity is the one who can and will overcome the con-job and the rigged system.

Bad. First off its a really dumb plot, it might have been salvageable if Chiwetel Ejiofor actually knew some martial arts in real life like all leads in martial arts related films almost always do. He, though a very good actor, was badly miscast and seemed out of his depth throughout. If you want to be inspired, watch Ipman, if you wanna slap your forehead at the end of the movie feeling like a total moron, watch this.

A fairly enjoyable movie with some good turns by some good actors, but, uh, I didn't get it. Sorry.

Came in with low expectations on this film, but in the end I found it entertaining. Story was good although the movie moved a little slowly. I like the conflict of the instructor and wished the writing moved the movie along better.

Mamet's mixed marital arts morality play weaves between action and intellect but doesn't always hit its target.

Despite its intriguing exploration of numerous characters, Redbelt fails to create any stakes to make its over dramatized third act work.

I have little knowledge on David Mamet, but this is an encouragement to explore both his cinematic and stageplay work. Redbelt is another great example of an intelligent director working in genre film, making both an exceptionally entertaining work but also adding a depth to it. It helps as well that he has someone as good as Chiwetel Ejiofor in the central role, who in a perfect world would be a major star. Some may have criticisms, but this turned out to be a gem after low expectations.

"David Mamet may not be the visual stylist that Jean-Pierre Melville was, but in most other respects, his Redbelt is faithfully cast in the tradition of the great French auteur's Le Samouraï." - Nick Schager

This film feels like Crash except it has with mixed martial arts instead of racial tension. Strange mix, to say the least, but it's not bad, until fantasy ending.

Definitely not Mamet's best work, but pretty well done, and some good perfomaces particularly by Ejiofor.

This movie is far from perfect, but I LOVED the Mike Terry character and the philosophy that he presented. The ending was also great. The story was rushed, however, and some of the writing was mediocre. I still enjoyed it more than I have most movies in quite some time, though.

Mamet's self-seriousness stifles Redbelt's cinematic potential. It's so tightly structured it offers no surprises -- especially not the satisfaction of watching action-movie conventions reward a shared sense of morality.

A martial arts teacher who takes seriously the honor code from their master samurai. How our troubled world deals with this type of conduct? (Spoiler ahead) Very good movie with great script and a final scene that deserves to be better clarified. How the great master understood the extent of what was happening there?

Love this movie! Very well acted, great story, and comforting message.

The compelling story of a living relic, an honorable man forced to survive in an age in which honor plays a distant third to considerations of wealth and celebrity. And in spite the scarcity of fight sequences, it's also a fantastic martial arts film that explores the philosophical essence of the discipline without getting too bogged down in scenes of lengthy explication. There are certainly a few miscues, but I was too caught up in a great story to even care. Highly recommended.

i mean the story is okay, but the acting, the choreography, ...

the story is very good...the ending is a bit short..good acting and good fight scenes...and remember , honor is above anything!

Plot is bit of a mess and ending is pretty cheesy but Mamet somehow makes it all work pretty well.

Gripping movie and an excellent performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor. I am surprised to see a serious role by Tim Allen. Points lossed by the ending that leaves a few unanswered questions, but nothing damning.

Dumb plot, dumb direction, dumb movie. Very boring as well. Grade: D Plus

A ragged and masculine character study, and Chiwtel Ejiofor is impossibly badass as always, certainly one of the greatest living semi-underground actors. The plot is a little jumbled though.

Nice attempt to show the sport of MMA, but ultimately fails in that aspect.

Quite good.

I'm not going to lie I was surprised to see Mamet tackle a plot that involves MMA but it's a quite good movie. I think it's safe to say that the fight scenes are good enough but they could've been filmed better. However Mamet is known for his stories and dialog rather than action, so I don't think that will be surprising anyone. I originally saw Chiwetel Ejiofo in Serenity and I'm glad to see he's got a starring role in a very good movie. He's great!

Uh, Chiwetel Ejiofor is a badass.