MMA Movie Alert: Think ‘The Karate Kid’, But With an Autistic Cage-Fighter

Here we have the trailer for The Great Fight, which is about an autistic savant (and state-capital buff) who discovers he has inborn MMA skills. When he whups up on some school bullies, their sensai (yeah) makes it a personal mission to smash him and his coach. It’s like The Karate Kid meets Rain Man meets somebody’s half-assed student film project.

Look, I want to take this movie seriously. Robert Loggia‘s in it, for God’s sake. But then you show me the John Kreese-knockoff villain* who looks like he just came from a gig with his Village People tribute act — acting as his own representation in the courtroom scene! — and Loggia growling in the kid’s face, and the audience of seat-fillers during the climactic fight (1:59-2:00), who are clearly bored off their asses. Warrior, it ain’t.

* According to IMDb, Martin Kove, the actor who played John Kreese, is actually in this movie. And so is Joyce DeWitt, best known as Janet from Three’s Company. Let that be a warning to all you young, aspiring actors. It can all go away so fast, and this is the kind of shit you’ll need to do to pay the bills.