No two ways about it, The Tournament is one hell of a bloody silly film, stretching plausibility way beyond breaking point, but that doesn't stop it from being quite a bit of fun.
Every seven years, in an ordinary town, an extraordinary event takes place: the worlds top 30 assassins meet for The Tournament, a fight to the death that sees the winner pick up a cool $10million in prize money. This time around, the arena is Middlesbrough in the UK. That's right, Middlesbrough. Not London, not Manchester, not even Liverpool or Birmingham, but Middlesbrough, which must have the highest concentration of CCTV cameras in the country, for the whole event is broadcast live for the benefit of rich gamblers, who bet on the outcome (even a fight that takes place inside a disused church is somehow broadcast to the punters). It's also clearly not got much of a police force, for there is no sign of the law as Middlesbrough is turned into a battleground.
To ensure that each killer is able to identify the other players, tracking devices have been implanted in their stomachs; these gadgets are also explosive, so if a player gets out of line, they can be instantly 'withdrawn' from the game (with satisfyingly messy results). Favourite for the latest Tournament is the previous winner, Joshua Harlow (Ving Rhames), who is seeking revenge for the murder of his wife. Unwittingly taking part is alcoholic priest Father MacAvoy (Robert Carlyle) who accidentally swallows one of the tracking devices.
As I have already said, the idea that such a contest would and could take place in a town such as Middlesbrough without the immediate intervention of the armed police is ludicrous, but with lots of ballistic action (bullet squibs), martial arts, exploding bodies, impressive parkour, and plenty of vehicular carnage, plus the added bonus of the beautiful Kelly Hu as sexy assassin Lai Lai Zhen, The Tournament is mindlessly entertaining for the duration and should keep most undemanding action fans happy through its sheer energy.
