Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a violent sport. There’s no way around it. How else do you describe a sport that requires two men to enter a cage and beat the living hell out of each other until time runs out or someone is knocked out or taps out? And as you might expect, violent sports often feature violent people, such as the championship fighter at the center of “Embattled.”
As seen in the trailer for “Embattled,” the MMA film focuses on the relationship between an aging champion fighter, who has no shortage of confidence and lives a rock star lifestyle, and his teenage son, who is trying to deal with the wreckage his father left behind when he abandoned his family and went off to make millions as a fighter. Of course, there’s a lot more to the story, including some tough issues like domestic violence, but ultimately, this is about a father and a son trying to reckon with their own personal relationship while also coming to blows in the cage.
The film stars Stephen Dorff, Darren Mann, Elizabeth Reaser, Colin McKenna, Karrueche Tran, Donald Faison, Saïd Taghmaoui, and Ava Capri. “Embattled” is directed by Nick Sarkisov, based on a script by David McKenna. Sarkisov is a Russian filmmaker that previously wrote and directed the 2016 feature, “Krasny.”
“Embattled” is set to arrive in select theaters and VOD on November 20. You can watch the trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis:
Raised by an abusive father, Cash (Stephen Dorff) channels his aggression to become a World Champion MMA fighter. Now accustomed to wealth, adulation, and global popularity, he faces a new challenge when his second son is born with Williams Syndrome. But this time, rather than stand and fight, he runs. While Cash continues to make his fortune in the ring, his eldest son Jett (Darren Mann) becomes the caregiver to his younger brother Quinn (Colin McKenna). When Jett decides to follow his father’s fighting footsteps and take to the fight game, he faces his past head on, embarking on a course inevitably pitting father versus son in a battle which, no matter the outcome, neither can win.