Arena (2011)

David Lord finds himself forced into the savage world of a modern gladiatorial arena, where men fight to the death for the entertainment of the online masses. The first time i watched Arena i really enjoyed it but sometimes another look at a film showcases more it's failure rather than it's greatness for example Samuel L. Jackson's perfomance wasn't that good, Kellan Lutz's as well and Nina Dobrev? What was the point on having her in the movie? I mean common. Arena showcases more on action and brutal death but it forgets a good script and a good direction. (3/10)

Some guy (who cares - he's the hero) gets abducted by one of those sinister organisations who stage online fights to the death to amuse the masses when X-Factor isn't on telly. He has to fight for his freedom, or escape, or do something like that.Let's face it, the only reason this got made is because Samuel L Jackson is in it. By and large, the acting is terrible from everyone - even the man himself. He's okay, but he could act his way through this with his eyes closed. Although why he chose to do this film while he is still being offered projects like The Avengers in anyone's guess! The fight scenes aren't bad. They have added 'cool' effect to them thanks to some trendy slow-mo, but the story (and I use the word 'story' in its loosest possible terms) is predictable and riddled with clichés (and 'twists' you can see coming a mile off). However, despite all this, the film isn't totally unwatchable.For some reason it's not that bad. If you don't mind your films pretty dumbed down and badly acted then get a couple of beers in plus an extra large bucket of popcorn, put your mind on hold and watch the (CGI) blood flow.

Human trafficking is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable, but what if it was used for something other than sex or slavery? The story of Arena is of a rich millionaire, who wanted to blend the UFC with Roman gladiators. The people taken are all men in excellent shape, who believe they're about to have sex with a beautiful woman, when they are kidnapped, and forced to fight to the death on a highly popular internet site. Everyone from the rich to college kids bet on the fights and then determine the fate of the loser. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from a film like this, but the story far exceeded my expectations. There is a huge back story to their most recent acquisition, a firefighter from Denver who is dubbed as Death Dealer. Kellan Lutz plays him and is one of these OC, Twilight, model types, who gives a surprising performance. This guy must have some kind of special fight training and portrayed this scary dude, who just wasn't going to give up. He's paired with the legendary Samuel L. Jackson, who was his usual hilarious, twisted self. Jackson is one of these guys who is just at a point in his career where everything he does is worth watching, and in a relatively small role, he really adds a lot to this film. Arena was a little better than I expected, until it reached it's conclusion. At the end of this film, there was a huge twist that would have made M. Night Shamalyan proud. I really didn't see it coming and the ending changes the whole theme of the movie. It's the kind of ending that makes you want to watch the film again, after you know the ending, to see if there were clues to figuring out the truth earlier than it was revealed. Arena is far from an award winning film, but it's got much more going for it then I ever would have expected. It's got some crazy violence, but there is also has a pretty compelling story, with an ending that will absolutely blow your mind.

I always knew this would be some dumb action crab, but hey that is what we want right..? The idea is kind of cool, put a bunch of men into an arena, and force them to fight to their death. Then I realized, that it is based on the idea of the Hunger Games. (The Hunger Games is a book I read some time ago) That is also about a reality show, where there are chosen 1 boy and 1 girl between 12 and 18 to fight in an arena until a single victor remains.The idea of Arena is stolen from the Hunger Games books.If you want to see the real deal, watch The Hunger games. It is more deep, and original. But it is also (unfortunately) a teenage movie, where all the blood is cut out. (takes some of the fun out of it)See Arena if you absolutely must, but really I'd just pass.