Blood and Bone (2009)

I'd like someone to make me a promise in prison as those promises tend to be kept more than the ones that these free walkers make. Sometimes I think it's the pain, torture, and difficulties the cellmates go through that make them able to keep to their words.

These people moving freely around me don't know what it means to keep a promise. Anyway, nothing should get anyone in prison. From what I've seen in the movies and heard from some jailbirds, it's one hell of a place. Inasmuch as being there seems to tame a lot of people, that place is hell on earth.

Synopsis

Blood and Bone is a film that follows the life of Isaiah Bone (Michael Jai White), an ex-convict and former soldier who enters an underground fighting tournament to take down the ruthless promoter, a mob boss named James (Kevin Ferguson).

Bone, before getting out of prison, made a promise to his cellmate and very good friend, Danny, to find and protect his wife, Angela, and their child.

Bone, freshly out of prison, watches a street fight that involves a local champion called Hammerman. Hammerman is huge and intimidating, but Bone wishes to have a fight with him. After Hammerman’s first fight, Bone meets with Pinball, the local fight promoter, and makes a deal with him. Pinball is skeptical at first but decides to trust Bone and puts him in a fight with Hammerman.

James, the ruthless mob boss, places his bet on Hammerman while Pinball places his bet on Bone. That night, Bone defeats Hammerman to the surprise of James. Bone later notices the mob boss’s girlfriend and queries Pinball about her. Pinball later reveals that Angela, James' girlfriend, was once married to a man named Danny, whom James set up and sent to prison. It was also said that she was pregnant at the time her husband went to prison, but James made her have an abortion.

This information matches what Danny had told Bone while they were in prison, so Bone works his way around to help Angela and her son, just as he promised Danny. One of the ways to do that was to serve James a spoon of his own very bitter medicine.

My Review and Rating

One thing I find exciting about this film is the artistic expression of the Mafia culture. This encompasses the language, history, crime, music, and performance. The film's strongest aspect is its intense and well-executed fight scenes. Michael Jai White (Bone) showcased his impressive martial arts skills, making the action sequences a thrill to watch.

While the plot on hand is straightforward, the characters, in my opinion, lack depth and good development. Bone is a somewhat generic “tough guy” protagonist, and the supporting cast doesn't add much complexity, which I find poor. I longed to see an antagonist that would weaken him and probably have him strategizing or training harder for a proper takedown. But there was nothing like that, as he kept defeating his opponents and walking away unscathed. A protagonist's got to have flaws, but I couldn't point out one in Bone.

Overall, I'd say the movie is decent and will appeal to fans of martial arts and underground fighting movies. I rate it 3.5/5.

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