Embattled

Sarkisov and screenwriter David McKenna ("American History X) give us fully drawn, realistic male characters slugging it out in a battle of male toxicity.

The father-son drama in Embattled might win some rounds, but the abundance of clichés leads to a loss overall.

Much like Dorff's overbearing Cash, the film is easier to take when it's not in your face.

An MMA drama with heart, conviction and a killer right hand jab, "Embattled" is a different kind of fighter story, one where the consequences of the fight are more important than the win-loss records of its fighters.

In "Embattled," the human side feels explored, as if the film could have been made without the MMA scenes and still been a worthwhile watch. But it does have those adrenaline-injecting fights, so ... all the better.

A testosterone substitute in drama form, "Embattled" practically peacocks onto the screen.

Embattled has enough gritty realism about a dysfunctional and damaged family to make up for the occasional hokey dialogue and the far-fetched but not entirely impossible scenario of a famous MMA champ doing a high-profile fight against his son.

I would never think of watching an MMA fight, nor would I ever want to see this ugly family drama again, nor would I care to ink up my body as the film's star does.

MMA drama has lots of heart, fighting, and swearing.

Ducking and weaving away from our presumptions, Embattled embraces the idea that violent men will use the only means they know to break a barbaric cycle.