Any gritty, martial arts extravaganza produced by the competent action filmmaker, Jalal Merhi, starring handsome, no less credible martial artist Olivier 'Nemesis' Gruner would strongly suggest the viability of 'The Circuit' (2002) being a slam bang fight flick of some note, factor in the reptilian presence of master B-Movie bad guy, Billy Drago and it would appear to be a sure thing, and it is, kinda', if one generously overlooks the somewhat formulaic premise.
Powerhouse puncher, Olivier Gruner is the bizarrely named, Dirk Longstreet, a retired, undefeated ex-Circuit champion who has moved on from the seedy world of underground, no holds barred combat to a loftier position of respected Athletics coach, until a pretty righteous, high kicking bar fight dramatically displays Longstreet's far from rusty form, this lapse in judgment not only exposes Gruner's beast mode, his pugilistic prowess inadvertently draws the mercenary attentions of those cold hearted manipulators that would attempt to draw him back into The Circuit by methods nefarious.
Thankfully, the uninspired narrative doesn't linger too long on the rather tired shenanigans of duping Olivier's brother into fighting, solely as a lure for Longstreet's reluctant return to the Circuit, focusing on Merhi's talent for staging exhilarating scenes of martial art combat. The Circuit's adrenalized heart is the enigmatic, Olivier Gruner whose charisma lends additional lustre to what might have been yet another contrived, anonymous-looking 'Bloodsport'/ 'AWOL' DTV clone, which, frankly, it is. No undiscovered action classic by any stretch of the imagination but Gruner is tremendously watchable, his plentiful fight scenes are exemplary with a tough-edged training montage, which remains one of the more rewarding inducements to watching these lunk-headed action movies in the first place!
Some of the 'acting' performances are rudimentary and the irksome, almost ironical misfire is the notable absence of a truly malevolent, 'boo-hiss' Tong Po-style nemesis, as the anodyne, ceaselessly preening 'Tiger Twins', for all their braggadocio demonstratively lack bite, and the less said about, Gail Harris's failed daytime soap mugging the better! One of the more pleasant surprises was seeing ubiquitous reigning VHS-era villain, Billy Drago cast against type as a far more sympathetic character and the pounding, ersatz Prodigy score by composer, Varouje is quite the techno-flavoured banger!
