Arena - Standard B-movie (plus Samuel L Jackson)  

Some guy (who cares - he's the hero) gets abducted by one of those sinister organisations who stage online fights to the death to amuse the masses when X-Factor isn't on telly. He has to fight for his freedom, or escape, or do something like that.

Let's face it, the only reason this got made is because Samuel L Jackson is in it. By and large, the acting is terrible from everyone - even the man himself. He's okay, but he could act his way through this with his eyes closed. Although why he chose to do this film while he is still being offered projects like The Avengers in anyone's guess!

The fight scenes aren't bad. They have added `cool' effect to them thanks to some trendy slow-mo, but the story (and I use the word `story' in its loosest possible terms) is predictable and riddled with cliches (and `twists' you can see coming a mile off). However, despite all this, the film isn't totally unwatchable.

For some reason it's not that bad. If you don't mind your films pretty dumbed down and badly acted then get a couple of beers in plus an extra large bucket of popcorn, put your mind on hold and watch the (CGI) blood flow.

6/10 May just keep you awake if Freddy Kruger was haunting your nights