Reviews

As for the reviews which I found online, the most detailed one at prisonflicks.com gave The Arena only two handcuffs out of five, citing the lackluster plot, the poor acting and the "inelegant" choreography of the fight sequences. Leaving my quibble with the last point aside, I guess I’d have to respond: so what? Perhaps I misunderstand people’s motivation for watching this type of film, but I had assumed that laughable plots and dreadful acting were actually part of the appeal. Anyway, the reviewer does go on to engage the question of whether or not the movie has a subversive and/or feminist element to it and quickly dismisses such suggestions as giving the producers too much credit. Other reviews are cited within this one which do argue that there is a feminist or Christian message of fighting for one’s dignity which raises The Arena above the level of the typical chicks-in-chains flick. That this is a theme in the movie is an assertion which I think is hard to argue with, although I’m not sure why it is seen as either feminist or Christian; isn’t it simply a human quality to want to hold onto your dignity? These reviews and others can be found on my website for those of you who want all the details. My personal favorite is the review by Brian McKay on efilmcritic.com which winds up with a panegyric on Pam Grier’s breasts. Check her out in the cross-your-heart gladiatorial crop top and you’ll see his point.

When all is said and done, The Arena seems to get a half-hearted thumbs-up from most reviewers. The gripes that people have with the movie fall into two opposing camps: it is either too exploitative or not exploitative enough. The first group, which is in the minority, is undoubtedly correct about the essentially demeaning view of women presented here, but they also need to get over it. The completely blatant, over-the-top nature of this genre hopefully makes it clear to any but the most humorless viewers that this isn’t a sincere portrayal of women any more than it is an accurate depiction of ancient Italy. In response to the reviewers who put themselves forward as fans of the women-in-prison genre and who don’t go for this film because it is boring, I would answer their complaint by suggesting that they need to up their Ritalin dosage - it’s a 78 minute film filled with sword fighting, for Pete’s sake. As for the argument some people make that the movie takes itself too seriously, it is true that many of the speeches in the film do seem to be quite earnest, albeit in a very melodramatic, badly acted kind of way. The only aspect of the movie that garners universal praise is its level of tits and ass exposure, practically opening, as it does, with the aforementioned shower scene. Call me old-fashioned if you will, but for me it’s just this delicate balance of dreadful writing and soft-core titillation that creates the film’s charm.