Raze (2013)

If you want to watch women beat the hell out of each other this might be your movie. Otherwise this movie had a pretty weak plot, everyone ends up in a body bag one way or another. I guess the morale of the story is don't go to bars and meet strangers. This was like a Hunger Games version of women kidnapped and forced into fighting to the end for their loved ones and their own life. As if a group could effectively be out murdering random strangers who's female family member went missing and no one would see a pattern. Of course some of the women that are housed in cells closer together bond in some way but it is ultimately a fight to the end for only 1 woman to be left standing. The end just makes the entire movie a complete waste. After all the torment you'd think she wouldn't throw her guns away and just run haphazardly down the middle of the road but yep that is what she does. And thus ends your 90 minutes of violence.

The premise isn't anything new: warriors held in captivity and forced to fight for their lives with the victor promised freedom for victory. The Romans did this with their gladiators, and every gladiator movie since then has followed the same basic concept: fight or die.But what makes this movie different isn't that it takes place in an underground prison compound with the fights broadcast on closed-circuit TV for the enjoyment of wealthy elite, or that the women are all beautiful and capable fighters, or that the dungeon masters are cold, heartless, masochists with a twisted dream of empowerment. No, what sets this movie apart is that the characters forced to fight are relatable, meaning that you've known women just like this at some point in your life. You have known women who have: (a) been in an abusive relationship, (b) helped support her mother and father during tough times, (c) was a college athlete and started a small business in the fitness field, (d) was a single-parent mother who joined the military in a non-combat role just to support her daughter, (e) took classes at a gym and got into the lifestyle, (f) took a boring mainstream job to pay the bills and put her dreams on hold, and/or (g) suffered PTSD. You form an emotional bond with each girl thrown into the pit. You feel empathy for their situation. This isn't MMA with referees and time-outs. This is your sister, your cousin, your girlfriend forced into a brutal situation that tests her physically, psychologically, and emotionally. That horror is what sells this movie.Zoe Bell carries this movie in much the same way that Bruce Lee carried "Enter The Dragon". It is her character that becomes the focal point, even though the first female character to whom we're introduced and with whom we bond is simply used to clarify the conflict within the hero's psyche. This change-up will leave you reeling like a punch-drunk boxer, and the hits just keep coming after that. Every girl that fights has her own story, and you can't help but feel sorry for each one as they're forced to fight, even when they're mentally and physically broken. The casting was well done, and the actresses are credible in their roles, though I consider "Phoebe" to be the most poorly developed (and overly acted) of the group. Considering that most of the cast are relatively unknown (other than Bell and Soldana) the acting is impressive. How Bruce Thomas hasn't landed a role as Brian Cranston's brother is beyond me - he looks eerily similar and turns in a very credible performance.The ending is pretty definitive as to making this a stand-alone film, but that's not to rule out the potential of a sequel, and one that really needs to be done. Once you've watched the film and have recovered from the gut-punch, you'll want to watch it again. I'd love to see this story continued, but with a stronger social statement attached to lift it out of the "exploitation" stigma.

the fight scenes in it are awesome the plot is decent and it also keeps you entertained I do hate when they cute scenes in the film it doesn't tell the whole story they cut over 35 minutes of the movie I do like the gore in it it has a lot and it has brutal fight scenes that kick ass and I don't like the ending it could of been a lot cool but it is a surprise ending you don't expect over all I give it a 7 star film and it could of been better at the box office it would of made more money if it was promoted better overall I really enjoyed the film and should be checkout everone should go out and rent it at you local video store and see what you think of the film I rent the video from family video and enjoyed watching it

I bought this movie for a $1.50 because I was bored and figured it was a movie about hot chicks who fight each other but some how there would be a happy ending. First I have to tell you there will be spoilers is this review. I was dead wrong. The overall plot was very interesting. 50 women fight to the death for the wealthy's entertainment. If they lose or refuse to fight, their loved ones are killed. First of all I heard a comment about how it is unrealistic that all the participants were attractive and there were no huge masculine women. In the movie's defense it is about trying to gain viewership and the viewers are more than likely going to want to see attractive women beat the crap out of each other. All the participants seemed to be picked partially for their fighting abilities. The acting was impressive by all cast members, especially the main character and the antagonist who continuously got under her skin. The movie got into the head's of the women. They did a good job of showing how these women desperately attempted to stick to their humanity but when it came to the ring, our natural instinct to survive kicked in. The movie did a good job of not truly villianizing any of the fighters other than the antagonist who for all we know could of snapped because of the environment she was in. The relationships were strong considering the circumstances of the movie but not to over the top. The fight scenes really shocked me. These fight scenes were better than most men fight scenes in movie and were very realistic and graphic. At some points I couldn't watch the screen. I don't like seeing women fight so I attempted to look past it but I thought the fight scenes were amazing. By far the best aspect of the movie. There was no one woman completely destroying another, the fights were for the most part competitive like it would be in real life. The movie felt real and I was really close to giving this movie an 8 but had to resist. The negatives are the lack of background of what was going on, the plot was a little weak, and I hated the ending. I don't need a happy ending, but they set it up where it seemed like it would be.