Arena Wars (2024)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- In the future, death row inmates are selected to compete in Arena Wars, a fight to the death reality show hosted by Samson (Michael Madsen) and Moses (Robert Donavan). Teams of seven prisoners have the chance to win their freedom, if they can outlast and defeat different killers, including Meat Wagon (Wesley Cannon), Cutie Pie (Maria Bova), and Calypso (Allen Woodman).

Perez (Robert LaSardo) leads one team of inmates, but Luke Bender (John Wells) emerges as the new star of Arena Wars. A selfless ex-Marine, who sacrificed his freedom in the name of national security, Bender is determined to lead his team to freedom. 

Belladonna (Kevin Hager), a CEO, and the mastermind behind Arena Wars, is desperate for higher ratings. Supported by his security team and his two cronies Domino (Mercedes Peterson) and Gideon (Michael Beran), Belladonna is determined to see Arena Wars succeed by any means necessary. Can Luke lead his team to victory? Or, has Belladonna stacked the deck too high against him?

My Thoughts- John Wells playing the grizzled tough guy with a conscience balances the story, so it’s not completely limited to blood, guts, and violence. He’s a character, who’s easy to root for, the Marine, who puts his country first, while also wanting to ensure the safety of his fiancée and her father, Admiral Jordan (Eric Roberts). Wells delivers a solid performance as Luke, adding the emotional foundation to Arena Wars. Yes, he’s a bit cheesy with the soft spoken badass routine, but it still works to complement the overall zany tone in Arena Wars.

Kevin Hager’s Belladonna is a decent enough villain. The typical narcissistic rich guy jerk, who probably has some mommy issues going up against the good guy soldier is an easy layup to execute. It’s almost impossible to resist the urge to punch Belladonna in the face. His smugness, his lack of empathy for other people, and his massive ego. All the right ingredients for a slimy antagonist, who’s hopefully headed towards a brutal comeuppance.

Arena Wars managed to pull off one good surprise, revealing Admiral Jordan and Luke’s fiancée died in a car accident years ago. Luke was duped by deepfake AI video calls with Jordan. That plays a big part in Luke doubting himself towards the end, because the father/son relationship brought a shred of normalcy into his life.

Domino’s failed sneak attack? Why? Why would they waste so much time on a storyline, where Domino ultimately fails at killing Belladonna, and when the big moment comes, she literally doesn’t pull the trigger. Domino plays a role in being a helping hand for the good guys. I get that, but all the build up for that lame ending, where Belladonna still gets the last laugh was a real downer.

I wasn’t too surprised, when Luke and a few others on his team survived. Perez dying early on in the movie did catch me off guard a little bit, but it’s obvious they were saving the big hero storyline for Luke. Belladonna cheating and giving an unfair advantage to the killers? Yeah, wasn’t surprised by that either, because outside of them just being completely nuts, you could easily tell the killers were hopped up on something. Although, I will say this, Belladonna’s death was a gnarly sight. Cut in HALF with a chainsaw? Ouch!

The killers are bloodthirsty maniacs! Okay, and what else? It’s true each killer has a different backstory, including wiping out the entire United Nations, or a terrorist attack targeting Yankee Stadium. Maria Bova’s Cutie Pie shows some personality, as a gleeful and demented murderer, who enjoys what she’s doing. 

And maybe I’m reaching here, but I’m almost sure there’s a reference to A Nightmare On Elm Street and Freddy Krueger with the boiler room stuff. Personally, I wanted to see a little more depth for the personalities. Creative looks for the costumes and different styles for the killers, and there’s a reason why the killers are seemingly invincible. But there’s really nothing worth mentioning once you get past the “WE’RE GONNA KILL YOU!” mindset.

John Wells does most of the heavy lifting on the acting side of things. Luke’s team is full of colorful characters. Kylie Fulmer’s Billie stands out, and Johnny Huang puts a lot of enthusiasm into Khan, the jokester, who’s reminiscent of a knuckleheaded class clown. Michael Madsen has a good amount of screen time as one of the hosts, and Madsen was seemingly in a comfort zone and having fun playing Samson. Eric Roberts? He’s barely in the movie, but Jordan plays a crucial role in Luke’s story, especially towards the end. 

The irony for a reality show about prisoners killing their way to freedom is a bonkers story that’s good for a few laughs. Also, there’s a noticeable night and day difference between two of the hosts. Holly Daze (Sheri Davis)  represents everything Arena Wars is supposed to be about. She’s wild, has an in-your-face attitude, and her wardrobe reflects her fiery personality. The woman interviewing people in the crowd? She looks and sounds like someone, who doesn’t belong there. Maybe she should focus on reporting legitimate news, or possibly doing something more dignified. Hilarious stuff. 

I didn’t go into Arena Wars with high expectations. It’s the kind of movie, where you should know what you’re getting into before you hit the play button. Arena Wars is set in a city…named The Big F*****g City. Luke’s picture-perfect Superman Punch, and Belladonna calmly eats sushi off of a topless woman, while people are brutally murdered. It’s a silly and over the top action/sci-fi flick, featuring heavy doses of dark comedy. 

Giving credit where credit is due, Arena Wars really nailed the dystopian mood for the movie. The depravity, the sleaziness, and the need for people to consume more violent entertainment. For a movie that’s set in 2045, maybe it’s kind of scary to imagine this is where we’re headed as a society in twenty years? I know Arena Wars is not that deep, but maybe they could’ve focused more on those particular what ifs, because there’s a lot of material to explore. 

The fight scenes were too repetitive for me and kind of dull every now and then. I didn’t get Domino’s storyline, or why they felt the need to put effort into it, if that was the conclusion they were going with. Overall, there’s still more than enough bloody violence and gore in Arena Wars. It’s a really cheesy movie, loaded with corny dialogue, but Arena Wars mostly works, delivering just enough chaos and violence.

Rating- 5/10