Star rating: **
Dir: Jeff Wadlow
With: Sean Faris, Amber Heard

Fight Club meets The Karate Kid in Jeff Wadlow's punch-up of a movie that manages the not so neat trick of being both action packed and tedious. Tom Cruise-lookalike Jake (Sean Faris) is a hot-head high school student and athlete who has recently moved to Florida. Jake has issues with his late father. The local bully and bargain-bucket Brad Pitt lookalike Ryan (Cam Gigandet) has issues with his daddy too. The hottie both are after (Amber Heard) is too busy tossing her long blonde hair and wearing short shorts to have issues with anyone. The young bucks lock antlers, Jake has special training from a cool dude brawl master (Djimon Hounsou), and there's a big tournament at the end. You just knew there would be, didn't you? Wadlow homes in on some meaty ideas - how violence is an assault on the mind as much as the body, for instance - but then attention deficit disorder kicks in and he's back to the fighting, shot in fast and furious, pop video style and overlaid with a pumping rap soundtrack. A film that not only glorifies violence but encourages it: by midway I was slapping myself hard just to stay awake.