Fighting

"For all the utter phoniness of Fighting -- the cockeyed, faux-verite shooting, the lurches in storytelling, the lack of character development, a contrived crisis between Shawn and his would-be girlfriend Zulay and Tatum's dopey-charming thing--Fighting's not so bad."

"Despite its dog-eared underpinnings, Fighting delivers some heady testoster-tainment. But it’s Channing Tatum who gives it a bruising grace. If you’re wondering why he’s being tipped as the next big thing, this punchy encounter will answer the question. Feel the pain."

"Not everything that happens in Fighting entirely makes sense -- it’s a fable, after all, and a fable doesn't necessarily have to -- but it breathes with a rough, exuberant realism that you rarely see in movies of its kind."

"I like the way the personalities are allowed to upstage the plot in Fighting, a routine three-act fight story that creates uncommonly interesting characters."

"Channing Tatum... mumbles through the film with no charisma at all. That’s kind of appropriate seeing as he’s playing a bare-knuckle prize fighter meathead."

"It's not "Raging Bull" or "Fight Club," but Fighting is populated by believable losers and lovingly adorned with just the right faces and peeling wallpaper to absorb you in Montiel's world."

"In Channing Tatum, who also starred in "Saints," the film has a good-looking, magnetic hunk to draw a crowd. Terrence Howard lends the pedigree of great screen acting, and Zulay Henao adds charm and glamour."

"By the book boxing fair, but with extreme dirty fighting. Cliches abound."