DVD Tapped Out

Tapped Out is just another case of a no budget B movie receiving early positive press from friends of the cast and crew. The film is worse than the trailers, which have already received a ton of heat, and contains some of the most cringe-worthy moments and performances I've ever seen. This isn't even a B movie, it's a D movie.

Let's look first to Hackman, the "star" who just happened to produce and write the film. Not only is his talent non-existent, but his portrayal of the character is entirely unbelievable. His writing gives us nothing more than a derivative story that you've seen many times before, except this time it looks like it was made for about 20 grand.

Appearances by "stars" Biehn and MMA fighters give us a glimpse of what this might have been with a real budget and if the content was in the hands of better filmmakers. Biehn was a disaster, plain and simple, but he's been that since the 90's so no surprise there. On the other hand, the MMA guys step in and do a fairly decent job in their limited time on screen. Unfortunately, the filmmakers are about two years too late as MMA is on the decline and the fighters won't offer enough of a draw to attract substantial audiences.

If you're looking for absolute garbage, this is the film to see… if not, don't waste your time. A film like SHARKNADO works because it's intentionally terrible. What makes TAPPED OUT so bad is that it takes itself seriously and fails horribly in its efforts. Unfortunately, it appears that the same team is back at their B movie ways with a new Biehn picture and one starring Cuba Gooding Jr… so their trend of hiring washed up 80's/90's talent continues, but at least this film offers us reason to never check out further work by this incompetent group.

0/10

(Not much of a spoiler here, it's safe to read, I don't give any of the finer elements out. Incidentally, it's kind of comical, if not synonymous to use the word "spoil" in relation to this movie..)

First off it's pretty bad when a movie review is filled with obvious shills. Don't have to be Sherlock Homes to figure that out. Still don't believe me? Look at the author(s) of those 10 star reviews and you will see this is the one and only movie they/he ever reviewed (although after reading this they might add more, but then they will be dated after). As if that wasn't obvious enough, really how many movies (especially the low budget) do you know get a 10 star review? Answer: very few, those reviews are obviously fake.

It's appalling that the publicist or whom ever had to sink so low to make fake reviews to try to spin it into something it's not. There are those that easily sell out and try to grab a quick buck out of you from every corner. But they don't last very long.

Now on to the review.. Over all if you've seen the original Karate kid this is a lot of the same. But then throw in some stereotypical revenge elements. Makes sense that Martin Kove (the bad sensei from the "Karate Kid") is in this movie, maybe intended as some sort of homage.

This movie is frankly just horrible! The plot is extremely predictable; you've seen it all before. Most of it is extremely cheesy and the rest makes little sense (not believable) at all.

Whom ever(s) wrote this movie, decided to go with the quick and dirty copy and paste route, not daring to do anything different nor be original. It's as if they reached into a mixed bag of stereotypes and clichés and spilled them out onto a game of scrabble. But there is no triple word score here, it's a mess.

The main "actor" Cody Hackman couldn't hold the lead role at all. Apparently he's a real sport Karate Champion but that doesn't make him anything less then a big blah on the screen. Doesn't seem real, shows little emotion or drive; just not at all compelling. Now with "Karate Kid", Ralph Macchio had this spark where you felt for him and really wanted to watch it through to the end.

Now I love the actor Michael Biehn (that we all know from Terminator, Tombstone, Aliens, etc.) but he wasn't much of a fit in this movie either. He might be a martial artist in real life but he didn't seem at all real here. Not very believable in his role as some sort of troubled, altruistic, Karate teacher.

You know when a movie has a problem when it's promoted for something it's not. In the movie poster for example you see Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida out in front when in actuality their involvement (I.E. screen time) was very little. Somewhat ironically, yet fitting, the main/lead actor is shoved off in the background. He is supposed to be the center of the movie!

Seems like there was so much potential with this movie but it was wasted on poor execution, bad story, bad casting, and bad..you name it.

Don't fall for the bait and switch tactic, phony 10 star reviews, etc. You don't need to step into the ring to see this movie was a TKO dud from the starting bell. You'll be "Tapping out" for mercy before the end of round #1, trust me..