A group of men selected for their fighting ability are confined to jail-like quarters and are regularly put on display in front of a live and television audience. Like fighting cocks they bash each other to pulp sometimes to death - no holds barred. I found this a very violent film with little entertainment value. Perhaps it is an indictment of our society that people should pay good money to watch such agonizing brutality. The actors with their bruised and bloodied faces, head-butting, neck-twisting, kicking and shouting did well in their restrictive roles, especially in the scene where one of the gladiators hurls himself through the plastic cage which imprisons him in the ring. He had been told that there was no escape from his fighting life apart from death in the ring or by lethal injection. It gave me a sense of relief to see him break free - perhaps to start a new life in the world outside.
Review of Temmink: The Ultimate Fight
