To regain their freedom, convicted criminals are put into an arena where they need to fight their way to freedom, facing 7 merciless killers in 7 rooms made to get them killed.
Written by Brandon Slagle, Michael Mahal, and Sonny Mahal with Slagle directing this take on “who’s the most badass killer” mixes elements from Running Man, the Paul W.S. Anderson’s Death Race (and its sequels), a little Firepower, and a touch of Tekken along with some new ideas, a bit of chaos, and a nod to Showdown in Little Tokyo, pulling together a film that has some style, some balls, and a lot of violence. This film does one thing very well and that is to entertain, like the show within the movie, it entertains the masses with oodles of violence, pretty people, fun costumes and weapons, etc. This is not meant to be serious in any way, it’s meant to be a boatload of fun, which the writing and direction clearly understood and went full force into it. The film has a few Easter Eggs for film nerds and shows that when a director knows his chaos, the chaos is good.
The cast here is a mix of familiar faces and newbies, a lot of indie folks, and a few crowdfunded roles (which aren’t as obvious here are in other movies lately). Of course, not all the performances are on par with each other, but nothing stands out too badly here to take the viewer out of the film. Lead John Wells does quite well, giving his character a few layers, making him a bit more mysterious than some of the others, and less in-your-face than most of the other. Top-billed Michael Madsen looks like he’s straight up having fun, while second-billed Eric Roberts seems to be giving the same performance he’s given in countless bit parts in countless low-budget films lately, a performance that feels a bit phoned in and like we are getting a lesser Eric Roberts. The supporting cast here works well with Robert LaSardo and Sheri Davis bringing in their usual reliable performances, along wiht a few more shining here and there throughout the film. On the bad guy side of things, Maria Bova is fantastic as Cutie Pie and Allen Woodman as Calypso is a fun addition to the villains.
Now, this review would be remiss to not mention the cinematography by Michael Su who once again turns in amazing work, giving the viewers a clear view of everything happening on screen, giving the film style and mood, while not overdoing it on the stylistic swooshes that too many fall into. Su’s work brings to life just about any film he is behind the camera for, and this is same here. His work is solid as usual, bringing the film’s colorful images to life and giving it that extra gloss that too many films have been missing lately.
Arena Wars is a fun film with nods to a bunch of others that work when all put together. It has fun villains, violence cranked up to 11, and is not afraid to really go for it. It’s clearly a film nerds’ film and one made by folks who wanted to make a solid film on a budget. This film shows how to make the most of your budget and put every single penny on the screen. Yes, it’s lower budget. Yes, it sometimes shows. However, it’s so much, viewers for who this is will love it.