Rating: 
Summary: One of a kind
Review: With a one, two punch, this movie knocks your senses for a loop. Brooklyn native Diana has lead a life of trouble. She seeks it like a bee does honey. Any fight that comes her way she will take it, any challange that faces her she tackles it--the hard way. Growing up in a bad neighborhood with her emotionally abusive father Sandro and younger brother "Tiny" has not been easy. Especially since Diana's mother committed suicide years before and left Diana and "Tiny" without a gentle mother figure to protect, love, and look up to. Marisol, a girl from school, is Diana's only friend. While Diana sees Marisol more like someone who needs her protection against people who will take her for granted, Marisol sees Diana as violent, tempramental, but a loyal friend. They get along because they understand the boarders of each others character and for the most part accept it about each other. Diana soon finds a way to channel all of her inner aggressions when she sets out to pay Hector, a local boxing trainer, to train her to be a boxer. Overcoming hardships and gender differences she excels and learns where she can be accepted for the agresstion and power that she has inside her. And finally she finds a place to fit in. In the boxing ring. Adrian has always wanted to be a boxer and has trained for years to become a pro athelete in the sport to make some money as well as a little fame from the Brooklyn side of town. But when he finds himself becoming interested in the aggressive yet pretty Diana he finds himself questioning things about himself he has never had to face before. And soon, as they are pitted up against each other he must determine what is more important, love or winning. This movie has some slow parts here and there and in essense you want to see MORE fighting going on than really happens which can make it a little frustrating. I mean, you really want to see this chick set someone to the mat, esp with all the gender hardships that happen in the gym but beside all that you see enough for some great eye candy. This movie hits home for me. It is one of those feel good movies that speaks to the heart and yet has enough hostility in it to show the darker side of personalities and hurt and be glad that I've never been in THAT much trouble before.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic and overlooked
Review: Girlfight (Karyn Kusama, 2000) It's rare that TV station-produced films (this one comes courtesy of IFC) live up to their pre-release hype. Girlfight not only did so, IFC's commercials may have understated the case for this overlooked gem of a film. Diana Guzman (Michelle Rodriguez [Resident Evil], in her big-screen debut) is a high school student with a very bad attitude and four trips to the principal's office in one semester for fighting. When she's asked to run some money from her father down to the Brooklyn gym where her brother trains, she finds herself intrigued by the idea that people can not only fight without getting called to the principal's office, but might actually get paid for it. From there, it's a pretty small step to begging, borrowing, and stealing in order to come up with the cash for her to start training as well. Hector (Law and Order regular Jaime Tirelli), one of the gym's trainers, is willing to take her on, and away we go. Part of the brilliance of Girlfight is that it's a sweet movie masquerading as a tough movie. While the film never loses focus on Diana's up-and-coming boxing career, Kusama balances the boxing with Diana's coming-of-age story; it's never explicitly said, but we get the feeling the developing relationship between her and another boxer is, in fact, her first real love affair. Another part of the brilliance is that it's a boxing movie that, well, doesn't have all that much boxing in it. Fight Club this ain't; there's actually very little in-the-ring action, and what there is is quite tastefully done (including some excellent from-the-fighter's-perspective camerawork). At various times during the film, boxer affirmations tacked to the walls of the gym are focused on for a few seconds, and it's obvious that Kusama takes the first one very seriously-that boxing is a game of brains over brawn. Many mystery novelists could take some from Kusama about how to unobtrusively introduce storylines. There is nothing of artifice in the way the film is set up; everything falls together in just the right way, to the point where much of the film has an almost documentary feel to it. Comparisons are inevitable, warranted, and favorable to Matty Rich's excellent film Straight Outta Brooklyn, but Kusama is a little more slick in her ability to keep everything smooth and well-paced throughout. Girlfight is yet another film from the supposedly mediocre crop of movies released in the year 2000 that puts paid in no uncertain terms to that judgment. In retrospect, 2000 may have been one of the strongest years for film, especially independent film, we've seen. **** ½
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible film, transparent, obvious and violent!
Review: Viewing this movie was an incredible waste of time. Very contrived, very obvious, with a complete lack of plot twists and lack of a good script in general. This is just another "feel good" movie, that will not stand the test of time. Plus this movie embraces violence, and advocates boxing for women! I do not even believe boxing should be permitted for men! And where do women hit each other.... In the head, mostly! Two huge thumbs down on this one....
Rating:
Summary: Feminist Propaganda!
Review: How anyone could take this movie seriously is beyond my comprehension! Is it me or does anyone realize that this movie is just pure propaganda! First of all, men and women are of the same value but each have their different roles. There's no way a woman like Diana could ever beat a fighter as accomplished As Adrian in real life! [...]did anyone realize that the two most important men in the movie are made out to look like bums at the expense of Dian?. there's the father who gets the [...] beaten out of him by his own daughter ( whatever happened to the 10 commandments) and then there's Adrian who looses to a girl in a boxing match. [....]
Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie I Have Ever Seen!
Review: This movie is the best I have ever seen. Michelle Rodriguez is one of the best actresses I have ever had the pleasure of seeing in the movies. She is my favorite actress of all times. As you watch Diana in the movie it makes you just want to be her.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't mess with her!
Review: For entertainment value, this movie scores quite high. But i feel it does not deliver what it should. For one thing, it is tremendously predictable: you know Diana (Michelle Rodriguez) is going to get involved with Adrian (Santiago Douglas), you know she is going to end up fighting with him, you know she is going to beat him in their fight (not unlike a Venus vs. Serena Williams scenario)... With all the guesswork gone, the only thing left was the excellent acting that Diana and especially Hector (Jaime Tirelli) showed us, plus the excitement that i, as a girl, felt every time Diana kicked some serious... Boy, can she fight! I would have liked to see how Diana dealt with the rest of society after so many months of training had gone by. How about school? Was she getting into as many fights as before? What about her dad (Paul Calderon)? The last time he appears on screen, Diana beats him up. Was there a resolution afterwards? Did Diana feel better after she told her dad all that she had been dying to yell for so long? Did her dad's attitude towards her changed? How was boxing helpful to Diana? Too many questions that the movie did not answer. Regarding the DVD's extras, i was disappointed that there are just a few minutes of interview time with Michelle Rodriguez. I wish she had been allowed to talk some more about her character. On the other hand, i was not interested in what Karyn Kusama had to say.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding film
Review: Almost missed seeing this film because of the title. "Girlfight" sounded to me like a movie I wouldn't be interested in watching. Glad I did. One of the best movies I've seen. The director knows how to create atmosphere which is a story in itself. With one exception, I have never seen any of the actors before (I don't go to the movies much) but they certainly held my attention. No car chases, gunfights, or nudity (for a change) but this film will stick in your mind. Again, one of the best films I've ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: A Fantasic Movie
Review: What can I say, I LOVED this movie. I never saw it playing in the movie theatres but if I did I would have payed to see it a coulple of times. Most movies with this type of storyline are about men. I am very pleased with the female twist. Kusama did a fantastic job casting Rodriquez for the lead. Im tired of seeing wimpy girls trying to play strong roles. She was such a perfect match for this role that you forget its just a movie. Its defenately a empowering movie. For those of you who dont think this is your type of movie, let me tell you this story. I first saw it on pay per view and it became my all time favorite. So I ordering again so that i could record it. A few weeks later I took it with me on a trip to my grand mothers. I watched it there with my cousins,all of whom said that they where not into this kind of movie. At the end of the movie everybody was exptremely impressed. So impressed that the next day it "came up missing". I was so upset because it had stop showing on pay per view. So I waited months for blockbuster to start selling copies. Finally I got another copy. However a few weeks later my in-laws came over and watched it and again it "came up missing". So here I am buying my third copy. Now if that doesnt tell you how good this movie is than just buy it anyway and see for your self.
Rating:
Summary: Michelle Rodriguez Is A Hottie...
Review: Karyn Kusama takes the "rocky" story and turns it inside out, giving michelle a chance to play a compelling strong woman. some would see the the idea of a woman boxing as a novelty but michelle's performance is so real, devoid of pretense, it is luminous. some people may be put of by the fact that a formulaic romance develops between diane and adrian ( the love intrest she ends up fighting )but what would a film be without a love story? this film is beautiful to watch, showing you nyc in all its vulgar beauty. and how often do you see role reversal between men and women in a movie like this? diane's brother is portrayed as the creative, sensitive type.the relationship between diane and her father is painful to watch, yet through her boxing, diane overcomes his tyranny. this is why i love independent films
Rating:
Summary: girl does the boy's fight
Review: Diana Guzman (a charming Michelle Rodriguez) is an high school student with an inherent anger...towards life. When her oppressive father asks her to deliver an amount of money to one of Brooklyn's famous boxing gyms, the meaning of being reveals itself as "Boxing". First comes Boxing to Diana Guzman's life, followed up by Love (with a male boxer- and a later opponent that is). With her love and anger Diana Guzman stands against patriarchal order by doing what this order is basically established upon: using physical force to beat one up. Okay wait, but she does it only in the ring and this is believed to make Diana a better person in school and anywhere outside the ring. But then again she ends up beating the hell out of her father who forces her younger brother Tiny to go boxing when all Tiny wants is to study art; and who does not appreciate Diana's enthusiasm in boxing; and whom Diana holds responsible for her mother's death. A typical american independent film, in the way the problem is presented both visually and scriptwise. Slowly the story is told, with sudden shockingly beatiful scenes (such as the part where two woman boxers are in the ring) and boringly (but very realistically) put love scenes. The female character building up a harsh male attitude against the male order is a bit problematic but still the film is very well directed and the cast, especially rodriguez is very successful. Recommend myself to wait and see Kusama's second film before establishing any prejudice(be it positive or negative) on her career as a director. No words to say on the DVD quality. The soundtrack is really beatiful, the soundtrack is fitting like a glove, and the soundtrack of girlfight is the key element that gets you engaged in the film.
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