Technically,
they are both the victims and the perpetrators, but underground fighters do not
make the rules and they reap little reward for their efforts. It is the
criminal gangs promoting the fights that make all the money. A particularly
nasty outfight is cutting through palookas like tissue paper, but they will
mess with the wrong family of martial artists in Joe Gawalis’s Bare Knuckle Brawler, which releases today on DVD.
Joey
Calderon was always the perfect son, following in the footsteps of his retired
cop-sensei-father, Mike Calderon. Unfortunately, Steve Calderon was the family
black sheep, but he is the only son their father has left after Joey is
murdered by the fight-club gang he infiltrated. Of course, Steve is determined
to bring Santo Ariza and his henchmen to justice, despite his father’s best
efforts to dissuade him.
That
is the tried-and-true premise of Knuckle in a nutshell. Granted, the
narrative is not exactly overly complicated, but the fights scenes are
impressively brutal. Yet, that arguably puts us a similar position to that of degenerate
modern-day Coliseum spectators cheering for each death in the ring.
Frankly,
Knuckle looks cheap and sub-professional. However, the greatest
disappointment is the complete and baffling way the film under-employs Martin
Kove (the mean-spirited Sensei Kreese in the Karate Kid/Cobra Kai franchise)
as the Calderon patriarch. At least he gets to work with his son Jesse Kove,
who portrays the ill-fated Calderon brother, while he is alive.
Co-screenwriter-co-producer
Pete Passaro definitely has the right moves and physicality for an action hero
like Calderon, but he lacks leading man looks and presence, vaguely resembling
South African martial arts star James Ryan and his signature surfer hair, but
not as cool. Fans will also be disappointed Danny Trejo does not have more
screen time as Ariza, but he certainly comes to play, as always.
So
yes, Gawalis and Passaro serve up some bone-crushing fights, but that is all
viewers really get. Honestly, Bare Knuckle is knuckle-headed. Not
recommended, Bare Knuckle Brawler releases today on DVD.
