Direct-to-video MMA films have always been an easy target. While MMA has long since captured the mainstream, more traditional karate and kickboxing flicks have metaphorically beaten the small screen cage fighter to the ground and kicked him as he lay. TAPPED OUT shows that the subgenre is finally getting to its feet, ready to be taken seriously. Despite the film's occasionally ridiculous narrative decisions and other shortcomings, I am genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. This is a serious coming-of-age story with a martial arts theme, and I definitely recommend it.The story: A maladjusted teenager (Cody Hackman) working off his community service at a local karate dojo embarks on a quest to confront the murderer of his parents (Krzysztof Soszynski).There are many reasons that this movie might have failed, not limited to its curious casting and status as a KARATE KID knockoff, but it perseveres. At first glance, Cody Hackman appears to be your average prettyboy but turns out to be a real-life competitor who delivers an strong performance as a steadily-improving martial artist. His sensei is played, of all people, by old Michael Biehn, and Biehn somehow manages to be 100% convincing as an instructor. The screenplay the two of them act out is also to its film's credit: the journey of the main character is refreshingly nuanced, with significant victories and setbacks throughout that are not directly tied to the buildup of the ending. Different forces pull him in different directions in a lifelike manner, and even when the movie resorts to moments of clichéd stupidity, these are at least grounded in logic. Stupid decisions are addressed in an almost self-aware manner by the script, and traditional martial arts are not downplayed.Like most movies marketed as MMA flicks, there is some disappointment in the false advertising of TAPPED OUT: UFC megastars Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida are prominently featured on the DVD cover, but are in the film for only ten minutes. Additionally, the ground & pound fight scenes are not about to outdo the likes of NINJA II's. With that said, the brawls are still a solid highlight of the film. Admirably foregoing slow motion and featuring decent editing, the dozen fights are at worst bearable and at best downright exciting. The choreography is far from ground-breaking – there's some intricate grappling, but that's it – yet the pace and dramatic components of the fights are admirable. I found myself actually holding my breath during some of the later matches simply because the filmmakers did such a good job of making them such close contests between characters I had invested in.There is no guarantee that traditional fight fans will enjoy this as much as me, and even I teetered on whether to give this a lower rating simply because it wouldn't matter to me if I never saw Cody Hackman in a martial arts movie again. While it may not have rewatch value, this action-drama is worth at least a single viewing and will probably do the trick for general martial arts devotees and MMA nuts alike. Rent it!

Alright, I was bored and I was in for a fighting movie. This one caught my eye and it could have been worse.In the beginning I was almost forced to turn off the movie, because of the cheesy storyline and the bad acting. It is just a non original story. I think you could see it more as a bad Never Back Down rip off. It is just a simple storyline were the main character meets his enemy and wants revenge. In the end he makes the right choice by letting the enemy live and so on and on.The reason I kept watching were the question marks the movie was giving me. The fight scenes were pretty good and that helped a lot. Let's say that the fight scenes are the reason to watch this movie. It keeps the tension high. Watch this movie when you're bored. If you can't handle bad acting, then it's probably not a good idea to watch this one.

Again and again... David vs Goliath stuff! I remember Karate Kid trilogy - Ralph was such a lamer... Real "Karate guys" were taking him apart (spanking his ass) but some lucky punch, disqualifications via illegal punches made him a hero/winner, even thou he was a pitiful wax-in, was-out guy (LAMER)... I am an UFC fan, and I (think) I know (watched every UFC spectacle + TUF 01-19 steel going) if there is any chance for a guy weighing (i don't know for the fact)... like 135 pounds to take over that BEAST.. The Polish Experiment - 205 (when fit) - Krzysztof Soszynski! That one arm choke near the end... guys... get real... Someone should talk to Cody and tell him to use "telephone move" to protect... Look at the UFC 173!... Btw... he was 99% off due to choke, but he was able to move out of going asleep!... Get real! Btw... he had just 6 week to train... In a real world - even his temp coaches - Anderson Silva & Lyoto Machida could'n help him. The difference in muscle mass and experience is just enormous! Watchable, but not real - Cody... do not co-produce movies you're in! (as Stallone, Schwarzenegger... etc!)

Bad to OK, but could have been good... there's hope for the plot.Too many places in the film where you think, NOOO, stop being daft, develop a decent background and continue.Example, skinny kid with little training is going to ever beat an established MMA fighter (this side of a barrel) nope, but serious HEAD damage to both, YES! The kid has SERIOUS anger against this guy, so he would be willing to break his body to win... so let's see it, full on impact, evasive action, ALL head shots (where there is F' all muscle development),.. but to overpower this guy, NO!! it would NEVER happen.Would have been good, if the development of a VERY small chance of winning would have been explored fully. Othererwise, looks daft.