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The Big Brawl

The Big Brawl

Action · Comedy · 1980

A young Asian American martial artist is forced to participate in a brutal formal street-fight competition.

Movie details

The Big Brawl

“Where the only rule is to stay alive.”

1980 Action · Comedy 1h 35m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.9 / 10

Community rating

A young Asian American martial artist is forced to participate in a brutal formal street-fight competition.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Big Brawl?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Any Which Way You Can

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Ride Along

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Airborne

Airborne

Action · 1993

Good-natured teen surfer Mitchell Goosen finds himself staying with his aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio when his parents head to Australia for work. There he meets his cousin, Wiley, and together they try to navigate the perils of high school—avoid the bullies, get the girl, and win a little respect.

National Security

National Security

Action · 2003

Earl Montgomery, a bombastic police academy reject, and Hank Rafferty, a disgraced, mild-mannered cop, can't seem to escape each other. They met on opposite sides of the law during a routine traffic stop that escalated out of control; now as lowly security guards they're thrown together to bust a smuggling operation.

Stark Raving Mad

Stark Raving Mad

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A crook quietly plots his revenge against the boss who murdered his brother while working for him.

Gotcha!

Gotcha!

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A student on a trip to France is tricked into smuggling secrets across the Iron Curtain by a sexy spy.

Batman and Harley Quinn

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Batman and Nightwing are forced to team with the Joker's sometimes-girlfriend Harley Quinn to stop a global threat brought about by Poison Ivy and Jason Woodrue, the Floronic Man.

The Paper Tigers

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Three middle aged men polish their martial arts skills to avenge their fallen master.

Kung Pow: Enter the Fist

Kung Pow: Enter the Fist

Comedy · 2002

A movie within a movie, created to spoof the martial arts genre. Writer/director Steve Oedekerk uses contemporary characters and splices them into a 1970s kung-fu film, weaving the new and old together. As the main character, The Chosen One, Oedekerk sets off to avenge the deaths of his parents at the hands of kung-fu legend Master Pain. Along the way he encounters some strange characters.

Double Threat

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With ruthless mobsters on her tail, a young woman with a split personality becomes entangled with a man on a pilgrimage across the country to scatter his brother's ashes.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Robert Clouse

Written by

Robert Clouse · Fred Weintraub

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan

Jerry Kwan

Mako

Mako

Herbert

Kristine DeBell

Kristine DeBell

Nancy

José Ferrer

José Ferrer

Dominici

Rosalind Chao

Rosalind Chao

Mae

Chao Li Chi

Chao Li Chi

Kwan

H.B. Haggerty

H.B. Haggerty

Kiss

Court is in session

Put The Big Brawl on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.