The Tournament

A 2009 straight to DVD film starring Robert Carlyle, Kelly Hu, and Ving Rhames, The Tournament is a game in a similar vein to Battle Royale - the characters are clearly drawn from both it and imitation The Condemned.

The Tournament itself is an event staged every seven years. Thirty of the world's greatest assassins are gathered in one place, where they kill each other to the last man. The title of "World's Greatest Assassin" and lots of money is the official prize, but naturally most of the competitors are doing it for other reasons specific to them. This time around, things have been spiced up with a 24 hour time limit and the inclusion of a former champion - whose wife was murdered by a competitor this time. It's Personal.

A little known film, reviews are sparse, and seemingly mixed. Despite the Follow the Leader premise and clear Cliché Storm, it remains entirely watchable, however.


 * Action Girl: Lai Lai Zhen.
 * Anti-Hero: Lai Lai Zhen is a killer for hire, but she doesn't kill innocents.
 * Father Mac Avoy is another example. He's not immoral, but he's depressed and drunk.
 * Anti-Villain: Joshua Harlow, who, despite being a mass-murderer, is only doing it for revenge this time, and has genuinely given up the business besides that and self-defense.
 * The Atoner:.
 * Ax Crazy: Miles Slade is the best example, but obviously half the cast qualify.
 * Badass: All of the killers, but Joshua takes the cake. He's not only a former champion, he also.
 * Car Fu
 * Evil Laugh: Miles Slade does this quite a few times.
 * Explosive Leash
 * Fingore: What Lai Lai Zhen does to the first guy she encounters. He tries to strangle her with a wire, she manages to get behind him and cuts his fingers off with it. Then, she slams his mutilated hand into a wall.
 * I Love the Dead: The aforementioned guy tells Lai Lai Zhen he will fuck her AFTER he has killed her.
 * Innocent Bystander: Father Mac Avoy.
 * Kick the Dog: Miles Slade invokes this fairly literally when he shoots a dog for no apparent reason.
 * Le Parkour: Anton Bogart does this all the time. Seriously, it's his only character trait.
 * Neck Snap: How Anton Bogart dispatches of the female sniper.
 * Professional Killers: Most of the cast.
 * Scary Black Man: Joshua.
 * Your Head Asplode: The tracking devices implanted in the players can do this, as well as make the upper half of the torso asplode.