American Fighter review: Fighting once more takes centre-stage in this 80s set throwback to the likes of Rocky and Over the Top.
Image Courtesy of Fantasia Festival
Of the many sub-genres of film that I call myself a fan of, I would say that the sports movie is one that I am the most forgiving towards. So many of them choose to hit the same beats, build to predictable conclusions and offer a story that you’ve seen in many forms before. But there’s something very effective about the sports movie cliches that seem more effective than other genre conventions.
There’s nothing like the endorphin rush of a great training montage, or the great rush you can get from a climatic bout. Even if the film itself can be lacking in areas, a well constructed beat can get you over the line. That is very much the case when it comes to American Fighter.
The film follows Iranian immigrant Ali (George Kosturos) who has managed to enter the United States in the fallout of the Iranian hostage crisis and establish a life for himself with a wrestling scholarship. Determined to get his ailing mother out of Iran but lacking the necessary funds to do so, Ali soon becomes involved in the violent world underground fighting in order to raise the cash.
American Fighter straddles a weird tone. On the one hand, there is this very emotional drama that incorporates some very real world issues by directly referencing the crisis that gripped Iran in the early 80’s. But on the other, it is a super cheesy throwback that is keen to evoke the sport movies of the era, namely the Rocky sequels and Over the Top. It gives the film an exploitative edge, using the historical context as a short-cut to heightened drama, but also ends up being a much lighter affair than the plot summary may lead you to believe.
The film is also much better at being an 80s sports movie then it is a comment on the geo-political climate of the 1980s, and thankfully the film knows its limitations. Directed by Shaun Paul Piccinino, a man with a great level of stunt experience, the fights in American Fighter are (rather aptly) its most impressive aspect. With a physically impressive star in Kosturos and some tight, well-judged editing, the fights that drive the narrative are impressively put together and pack a decent punch.
Where the film is less successful is in its balancing of other cheesy 80s movie elements, namely the college aspects and relationship dramas. Everything plays just slightly on the wrong side of cringe, with the romance between Ali and classmate Heidi (Allison Paige) just doesn’t spark and is driven by some incredibly corny beats. The film itself doesn’t even seem that keen on fleshing out this relationship beyond the point of perfunctory narrative function.
Thankfully, the cast prove to be a lot of fun. Kosturos is an earnest lead, putting across a sensitive portrayal,. Making Ali a hero worth rooting for, an also an exceptionally skilled stunt performer. Sean Patrick Flanery is suitably grizzled as the mentor figure with a tragic past, while Tommy Flanagan has fun masticating on the dingy underground surroundings as fight announcer McClellen.
American Fighter is hardly as polished as the Hollywood counterparts that it clearly looks up to, but it is a sports drama that wears its heart on its sleeve and has a lead hero that’s sweet-natured and very easy to root for. And sometimes that is just enough to get you over the line and make for a more than enjoyable time hitting some of those sweet sport movie beats that your endorphins just love.
American Fighter was reviewed at Fantasia 2019.
