IMDb RATING
5.6/10
2.3K
YOUR RATING
A former NCAA champion wrestler, paroled after ten years in prison, agrees to a series of cage fights to save a friend's life and is asked to do the impossible - lose.A former NCAA champion wrestler, paroled after ten years in prison, agrees to a series of cage fights to save a friend's life and is asked to do the impossible - lose.A former NCAA champion wrestler, paroled after ten years in prison, agrees to a series of cage fights to save a friend's life and is asked to do the impossible - lose.
- Awards
- 1 win
Kris Van Damme
- Chase
- (as Kristopher Van Varenberg)
JD Evermore
- Parole Officer
- (as J.D. Evermore)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film is called "Brawler" on the UK Netflix.
- GoofsAmong his many injuries, Jake gets shot in the mouth, putting a hole through his cheek. Though sutured up and leaving only a small scratch (remarkable in itself), the blast alone would have burned his mouth, yet the injury fails to impede Jake's diction in any degree.
- ConnectionsReferences The Wire (2002)
Featured review
No, it's not in Philadelphia
The Philly Kid is a film about the Mixed Martial Arts fight game and if you think it's set in Philadelphia as I did you will be wrong. It is set in New Orleans and curiously enough nobody in that whole cast speaks with anything remotely resembling an accent you would find in New Orleans. You might as well have set the film in Philadelphia.
Other than that this is a pretty good film in the tradition of such fine boxing films like Champion, The Set-Up, The Square Jungle and the more recent Split Decisions. Young Wes Chatham and his friends Devon Sawa and Kris Von Damme are just out for an evening and truly and innocently get involved in a cop killing. Von Damme is dead, Sawa is wounded and Chatham does 10 years for something he didn't do.
Chatham was at one a promising college wrestler and when he gets out he finds Sawa in heavy to some gamblers. He learns the mixed martial arts game and agrees to some fights to get Sawa out of debt. He also falls for Sawa's sister Sarah Butler.
Like those other cited films The Philly Game is very honest and lucid about showing all the crookedness and double dealing that goes on. It's realistic and at times very brutal. Chatham has to navigate between gangsters, crooked promoters, and one bad crooked cop.
The fight scenes are as realistic as when I've looked in on real mixed martial arts matches. My favorite scene is when Chatham is drugged during a match and still comes out on top. All due to a fighting heart and an old wrestling maneuver.
The Philly Game did not get much notice coming out, but it's an undiscovered diamond in the raw if you look.
Other than that this is a pretty good film in the tradition of such fine boxing films like Champion, The Set-Up, The Square Jungle and the more recent Split Decisions. Young Wes Chatham and his friends Devon Sawa and Kris Von Damme are just out for an evening and truly and innocently get involved in a cop killing. Von Damme is dead, Sawa is wounded and Chatham does 10 years for something he didn't do.
Chatham was at one a promising college wrestler and when he gets out he finds Sawa in heavy to some gamblers. He learns the mixed martial arts game and agrees to some fights to get Sawa out of debt. He also falls for Sawa's sister Sarah Butler.
Like those other cited films The Philly Game is very honest and lucid about showing all the crookedness and double dealing that goes on. It's realistic and at times very brutal. Chatham has to navigate between gangsters, crooked promoters, and one bad crooked cop.
The fight scenes are as realistic as when I've looked in on real mixed martial arts matches. My favorite scene is when Chatham is drugged during a match and still comes out on top. All due to a fighting heart and an old wrestling maneuver.
The Philly Game did not get much notice coming out, but it's an undiscovered diamond in the raw if you look.
helpful•30
- bkoganbing
- Oct 15, 2017
- How long is The Philly Kid?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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