When Jake Barnes, a master Jiu Jitsu fighter, refuses to face Brax, an indomitable alien creature, the future of humanity hangs in the balance. Injured and suffering from severe amnesia, Jake is captured by a military squad unequipped to fight the merciless intruder who has descended upon the planet. Jake is rescued by Wylie, and an ancient order of Jiu Jitsu fighters who must help him recover his memory and regain his strength in order to band together and defeat Brax in an ... (Full plot summary below)
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When Jake Barnes, a master Jiu Jitsu fighter, refuses to face Brax, an indomitable alien creature, the future of humanity hangs in the balance. Injured and suffering from severe amnesia, Jake is captured by a military squad unequipped to fight the merciless intruder who has descended upon the planet. Jake is rescued by Wylie, and an ancient order of Jiu Jitsu fighters who must help him recover his memory and regain his strength in order to band together and defeat Brax in an epic battle that will determine the fate of mankind.
Leave your thoughts about Jiu Jitsu.
| PolygonKeith PhippsThough any Cage-free attempts at comedy fall flat, the action remains exciting, thanks in large part to Logothetis’ steady-handed, no-frills approach. Who knew putting together a bunch of gifted martial artists and letting them exercise those skills could take an action film so far? |
| IGNKristy PuchkoThe performances range from wooden Moussi to full-on Cage, so it's tonally all over the place. As a whole, it's an absolute mess, which makes it kind of perfect for 2020. Still, within this swamp of style, wildness, and TOO too much, there are some truly exhilarating treasures, chief among them Cage. In short, it's not good, but maybe being a lot just enough. |
| Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonJiu Jitsu is an ambitious undertaking in its way, one that will probably tickle hardcore martial-arts and samurai movie fans, although the attraction may be more academic than adrenaline-fueled. |
| The GuardianPeter BradshawThe entertainingly frazzled presence of Nicolas Cage provides a reason to pay some attention – but not much – to this otherwise uninspired and by-the-numbers martial-arts action-sci-fi crossover. |
| RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsJiu Jitsu is too disjointed and tame to be worth an impulse-rent; it's also too silly to be enjoyed with a straight face, and too lazy to be endearingly dopey. |
| Slant MagazineSteven ScaifeNicolas Cage’s amusing turn as a kooky hermit with an affinity for newspaper hats often feels awkwardly spliced into the film. |
| Movie NationRoger MooreThe fights are reasonably well-choreographed, the stuntwork not totally obvious. The effects are adequate, there are half-assed “graphic novel” chapter breaks and titles — “The Rabbit,” and the like. The story? Strictly wakkie nunu. At least Cage is here for a few laughs. |
| IndieWireTambay ObensonIf the overlong and often tedious brawls were at least believable and well-choreographed, maybe there would be something commendable and entertaining to be derived from the experience of watching the film. |
| Original-CinThom ErnstAs flat and uncompelling as its title, Jiu Jitsu plays like a hybrid of rejected audition tapes from Predator with the outtakes from the fifth Highlander movie (and not the ones starring Christopher Lambert). But just how bad is Jiu Jitsu? Well, bad enough that the phrase “a waste of Nicolas Cage's talents” actually means something. |
| Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovLess a Nic Cage movie than a movie with an extended cameo by Nic Cage in a “finely crafted” paper hat (!), this Greek/Cypriot co-production mixes mediocre martial artistry with a sci-fi spin and ends up a puzzlement to both genres. |
