The_Phantom_Projectionist Among the several martial arts performance groups making names for themselves in the movie business, the Z Team is definitely among those worth watching. Though one of its members – Laurent Buson – has already been generously highlighted in MERANTAU, their first feature length team production here is a different kind of project and pretty unique as far as fight flicks go. Though this genre-bending adventure takes a few creative and technical chances that don't pay off and will limit this one's appeal among viewers, it ought to appeal just fine among people who value martial excellence and are ready for a slightly different kind of street brawler.The story: A team of martial arts performers trying to make it big in Hollywood is forced by a sadistic, omniscient filmmaker to fights for the lives of their loved ones in a series of life-and-death brawls.The film is a fairly dark action-thriller. Imagine THE CONDEMNED shot by a director of the SAW series, with an emphasis on martial arts. Nevertheless, the decision of the actors to play themselves (led by director Fabien Garcia) makes this feel a little like a vanity project, and the semi-realistic approach to the scenario makes the very flashy karate look out-of-place at first. However, once the movie starts finding its pace, it begins to feel more natural, especially as mystery transcends any character shortcomings and the quality of the brawls becomes stellar. The decision to film this as a pseudo-documentary is odd but handled about as maturely as possible: at best, the camera-work is standard enough that you forget what kind of a movie this is supposed to be, and even at its worst, you never get the erratic, debilitating camera-work of "Blair Witch" knockoffs.The fight scenes are more than decent to begin with but ultimately develop into fight-of-the-year contenders. The ten full-length fights are evenly split between one-on-one and one-against-many exchanges, and in both cases, the performers demonstrate the necessary ingenuity to stand out against the competition. The first fights lack a little power – giving the impression of a bunch of guys just throwing spin kicks until someone drops – and director Garcia's love of Dutch angles is not entirely conducive to filming dynamic brawls, but the quality of the matches rises quickly and dramatically. A scene wherein Garcia battles a karate dojo is particularly cool, the showdown between Didier Buson and Xin Sarith Wuku is a showstopper, and the lengthy slugfest between Garcia and Laurent Buson is a worthy finale. If anything, I wish the fights could have been even more creative: in one scene, the filmmaker demands that Garcia fight a violent gang using only drunken boxing techniques, and a few more stipulations of this sort could have made for even more interesting exchanges.The eventual twist at the end of the movie may or may not satisfy viewers, but personally, I thought it was pretty cool. Additionally, the amplitude of performers trying to act their way through thick French accents may be off-putting to some viewers, but anyone who can sit through a Van Damme movie should be fine. Altogether, this amounts to a movie that could have been a lot better but isn't actually in too shabby of shape to begin with. The Z Team seems capable of matching its ambition as deftly as, say, Eric Jacobus and his Stunt People, and I expect good things from them in the future. In the meantime, I recommend DIE FIGHTING as at least a rental.

Robert Chapin When you prepare yourself to watch a low budget action film, you can expect there's going to be a certain amount of gratuitous violence executed in a style that might be considered passable at best. But Fabien, Lohan, and their "Z Team" deliver spectacular balls-out choreography, brilliantly executed, at par or better than most big budget feature films. And much like any Jackie Chan film, story isn't really that important, but this is actually a fairly cool premise with a satisfying twist. Keep an eye on these guys. I'm sure we'll be seeing them again soon. That is if they don't beat the crap out of each other first.

vinnlau I'm a big fan of martial arts movies and i think nowadays it's quite difficult to find a movie with legible fight scenes and an interesting scenario that make you watch the whole movie. Die Fighting is one of those that keep you on your seat until the end cause it's not only about the martial arts but also about something real,human,that could have happen, not some vendetta crap like we often see those days. I think the idea of the plot was quite imaginative and genuine. About the martial arts,the choreography was amazing,Wushu style(Chinese martial arts)the directing was great with actual shots where you can see the actors are real martial artists,(like The Raid)i think this movie was made with brio

vaelyn-2 I wouldn't get near giving this a 10 .. but i also wouldn't call it the worst Martial Arts movie that i have ever seen (and I've seen a bunch). Since the main listed actor did the directing etc too, I'm guessing this was a project of passion, but the dude sure has a mean kick.Low budget obviously, and a pretty weak plot and average acting, but still worth a watch for the fight Choreography. I didn't think that i would make it thru the whole movie but i did .Filmed with multiple cameras, most simulating some kind of CCTV cameras which is an interesting choice.. seems to work with the plot.So yeah .. worth at least one watch, but don't look for many Oscars in its future.EDIT: When i wrote this i wasn't quite finished with the movie.. now that i am .. the ending actually caught me off guard.. it was very well done.