I don’t watch many movies. I like to think it’s not because it’s ten bucks that I don’t want to spend, plus a three dollar cup of coffee that isn’t even good. Nah. It’s not because I don’t respect the medium, either. In fact, I’d like to think it’s more because I do respect the medium. I go to a theater with the same full and undivided attention I offer to a jiu-jitsu class where I’ll be choked and armlocked. I don’t mean I actually go in thinking of choking out the pretentious idiots who laugh extra loud and respond audibly to in-jokes, in a vain attempt to impress me and everyone else unfortunate enough to share a theater with them. (But, maybe next time…)

I mean, I give my full focus, and in return I step into a different world, experience some ups and downs, and maybe someone sheds a little light on a piece of life I hadn’t experienced.

I’ve been disappointed more often than not. But you give honor to the art, and maybe you’ll find a little honor for yourself. That’s what I felt tonight when I watched RedBelt, and seeing it was definitely worth the ten bucks.

Redbelt is David Mamet’s attempt at a martial arts movie, and not an “MMA movie.” The protaganist has a disdain for competition and trains only to better himself. MMA action is presented in a more or less unflattering light, so expect this movie to be trashed on most MMA message boards and websites. The focus is honor and philosophy in a crooked world where every fight is fixed, and that’s something we MMA fans mostly don’t want to face. We want an MMA version of Rocky and this ain’t it. It’s something better.

The film’s fight scenes are very good and mainly realistic, although there’s a unrealistic convention to the action that’s introduced in the movie. I won’t spoil for anyone who doesn’t know it yet. (I knew about it beforehand and I thought I’d hate it, but when I saw how it was used I found it a nice twist, and fit well with the twists and turns of the story.)

In the end, it’s not as big a deal as you might think because the movie’s drama isn’t built by violence. More time is spent on the bizarre ways money and honor drive the characters of Redbelt to fight it out. It’s presented with a slick style and an urgent pace. The acting is strong, particularly the understated lead, Chiwetel Ejiofor. I felt a little let down by John Machado, who just isn’t as powerful a voice as he is a physical presence. (But at least he gets a few lines; most of the martial arts royalty in the film, even the old school like Gene LeBell andto Dan Inosanto, speak little to nothing at all.)

One of the MMA fighters who appears in the movie (guess who?) is fond of saying that “real power, strength and heart can’t be given, it must be taken.” Redbelt is a 90 minute document of one such quest and it does an excellent job of exploring why its important to try and take those things in the first place. It’s one quest to the theater that I’d recommend taking. Just try not to choke out your fellow patrons, and skip the coffee.