Fightworld (2018– ) User Reviews

A martial art documentery thats good

[nrom-87746 · 9/10 · 25 October 2018]

Finally not just telling the ancient history of martial arts, but a fresh take on the people and the coltures behind the fighters

Not your average martial arts docuseries

[citydogz45 · 7/10 · 25 October 2018]

This is not just about the sport it is about the fighters and what their certain art means to them. I really like it and plan on finishing the series...highly recommended

An incredibly unique look into fighting

[grahamvandyke · 9/10 · 12 November 2018]

Frank Grillo (most notably in the Captain America series) is an actor and martial arts practitioner on a quest to explore different martial arts, visiting generally impoverished countries and finding what drives them to fight.

First of all, this is NOT a documentary series that breaks down different fighting styles extensively and there is surprisingly little fight footage considering the title "Fightworld". As Frank Grillo explained in a podcast, this is a docu-series about PEOPLE. It is about determination. Bonds that can't be broken. Tradition and faith. The reason why to fight. When not to fight. Tragedy. Grief. Protecting loved ones. And ultimately, the clarity all fighters share that people, although immensely different, are all the same. We all bleed the same. We cut the same. We can be knocked down the same. We all love the same.

The series starts off relatively calmly with boxing in Mexico City, a combat sport most people are familiar with. Throughout the series we are taken on a journey that delves deeper and deeper into unfamiliar territory and stranger traditions, with a final breathtaking episode of season 1 that will have made the long journey all absolutely worthwhile.

9/10- Frank Grillo brings us a beautifully stylized series that explores the human soul through the language of fighting.

Why do you fight?

An Art Form

[joshuamocke · 9/10 · 19 October 2018]

Fightworld is a five part documentary series hosted and narrated by American actor Frank Grillo. Each episode takes the viewer into the world of a specific countries most prominent combat sport/training.

In my opinion Fightworld has the perfect host/narrator for the series as Grillo has experience in mixed martial arts and has a clear passion for the sport as well. Fightworld also provides an in depth explanation into certain styles of fighting society have not been exposed to, this can be great in educating people on fighting as well as broadening their minds on their religious views. Fightworld also provides good enough content for people who want to travel as they do film in five different countries.

Fightworld is the perfect documentary series for people who are starting to train in the sport of mixed martial arts.

A series that gives well needed respect to an astounding art form.

Really Good

[e8v3r · 10/10 · 5 February 2019]

Great documentary series. Started with martial arts-combat sports , and ending with philosophy about humanity. Not only for martial arts fans but also everyone can learn what "fight" really means in different cultures. Fighting against poverty , misery , drug or alcohol addiction etc. We see the fighters on the ring or cage but we never don't know what's behind them. I think Frank saw that lack and wanted show their real fight with life. He went into the environment like one of them and told about their lives. In every episode i see same positive and friendly man without exaggeration.

spoiler : Senegal Laamb winner is Modou Lô

Good insight.

[apowen · 7/10 · 18 October 2018]

An interesting insight to various forms of hand to hand combat from the globe.

Slightly frustrated the build up of the Senegal episode didn't end with which fighter won. Only a 30 sec clip of the fight

Beautiful series if you like travelling and martial arts

[pim_loomans · 9/10 · 15 December 2018]

Beautifully filmed series, the series goes into dept regarding some of the most interesting (and unknown) martial arts. Every episode has its own vibe and makes you want to go there yourself. Still hope there will be a second season!

Krav Maga

[DavidACPYehuda · 7/10 · 14 October 2018]

It gives the viewer a glimpse of the concepts and philosophies surrounding the martial arts of 5 countries.

Great documentary!

[bradschulties · 9/10 · 15 November 2018]

Frank Grillo does a fantastic job with this series!

A humble approach to fighting

[covertdustin · 6/10 · 30 October 2018]

Some really beautiful settings, amazing individuals to encounter, and a host that really has his heart in it. I love the Thailand and Myanmar episodes especially, but, honestly it seems to fail during the fight scenes. I have to say, what the flying fudge is up with the music in this thing? Like the biggest lethwei fight in the episode is to this bizarre, bland, snooze-worthy acoustic rock and piano... what is going on? Honestly whoever set the music for this documentary needs to think about a different path in life.

It's like democracy -- highly non-ideal, except for everything else out there

[andymhancock · 9/10 · 15 December 2020]

I didn't give it a 9 because it had particularly good coverage of techniques or a good cross-section of martial arts. In fact, there were just a handful. I gave it 9 because it was kind of real. More real than Kingdom, which was already quite "visceral", but the tragedies oin Kingdom are highly contrived. Fightworld is good because it presents a sobering look at the reality of combat arts. It's not all fun and games in many cultures.

Painfully slow

[ersbel · 29 October 2018]

This documentary is painfully slow. And about fighters who have a terrible life. A life so extreme they have to actually use their body as a punching bag in order to make a living. Than there are the usual boring statements about the virtue of watching your IQ dripping as one takes one hit too many to the head.

Defense / Attack.

[REXNE · 6/10 · 2 October 2020]

The content remained simple on many sides. If it had been developed, if it had been approached as a more documentary, a very good production could have come out. I liked the episodes lethwei and krav maga the most, krav maga the most. Krav magayi I saw many years ago and it is one of the martial arts I want to learn the most, it has a good philosophy.

Poor attempt at Documenting Fighting and culture

[mariopcharles · 3/10 · 24 December 2018]

I watched the episode on Senegal which was very informative from the cultural standpoint. But as much as they spoke about Laamba and fighters involved when it came to actually seeing the fight, they didn't finish showing the fight. WTF? Whether it was a production or directing decision, it was a pretty lame episode as a result and ruined my outlook on the series. Although Mr Frank Gillo is skilled at fighting for sure, his ability to a facilitator of knowledge and connecting with the artforms lacked serious credibility. Not a fan.

Excellent, I've learned a lot from this

[fastlane-00665 · 8/10 · 3 November 2022]

Frank really adapts and bonds with the fighters on his journey around the world. I love his compassion and empathy with them. Really, really interesting all the different fighting styles and incredibly the nicest people you could ever wish to meet. I loved this series.

I'd rather fly a kite than go out for a fight when you go out for the night If you find some hassle avoid the tassel Black or white just keep it light Yeah, given the option I'd take the flight to get home safe, you got that right!

Take my advice with your chicken fried rice Just relax and enjoy your bite!

Hope you like the rap, guys.

More than you think

[danielcereto · 8/10 · 27 March 2021]

Great documentaries where box is the union of several cultures and places at the same time. More than only a boxing series. More into a way of life of mostly boxers around the world.

A punch on my expectations, a waiste of a great opportunity

[guisreis · 6/10 · 25 April 2019]

Off course the issue of this TV series is quite interesting: traditional fights from different parts of the world. The approach of showing culture and people's lives and not only fighting techniques is also the best choice, in my opinion. Therefore, seeing this TV series in Netflix brought me high expactations. However, it failed miserably. Most of episodes are too superficial, and boring host Frank Grillo makes everything worse with his vanity and narrow mind (he is the worst element of the series). The narrated text is often full of prejudices, with silly self-help moments (particularly in the first episode, the one on Mexican boxing, the worst of them). Cinematography work is excellent, the best thing in all documentaries. Interviews are generally uninspired, even though important people have been interviewed: most of them just said obvious and superficial things, nothing out of conventional wisdom (the episode about Senegalese laam has the best interviews, and it is my favorite; it has the worst IMDB rating because many people became angry about the bad choice of not showing the end of the main fight). My ranking of episodes, from best to worst: Senegal > Thailand > Israel > Myanmar > Mexico.

fightworld is best documentary series

[mananpreetahuja · 10/10 · 30 August 2020]

Hello everyone, how are you?i am good.i hope everything is going well.i want to inform you that i watch documentaries all the time.fightworld is the best documantary series.i strongly recommend it.

Pretty much not even a little bit entertaining.

[joelgreek · 3/10 · 4 January 2019]

It's pretty sad how he goes from place to place, totally unaware of the culture there. He goes to Thailand like: "Yeah this is all happy faces and everything is awesome!" and in the end you see how horrible it is. He goes to Israel to learn Krav Maga with none whatsoever knowdledge about the conflicts there. The show even portraits them as a happy fun cuddly promise land.

Other than that, the show is just boring. Someone could probably do a better job with 25% of the budget.

Rather boring

[bjerremads · 2/10 · 18 October 2018]

The host made it very hard to watch. Very poor perfomance. Lots of documentarys in Youtube that displays the world of fighting better. And less annoying

Yawns and bores

[TheOneThatYouWanted · 2/10 · 20 November 2021]

World of boring more like it. Reminds be of bad YouTube vlogging videos. Just random shots and over explaining the most minor things to kill time. If it wasn't for the pandemic, I would have stopped watching after the first episode.

Idk

[Jessicanu94 · 3/10 · 14 October 2018]

This kind of bored me. I was not really a fan of the host at all

Host is horrible

[micstar00 · 3/10 · 16 December 2018]

Such a fantastic concept and interesting stories. However cannot watch with the horrible host. Arrogant guy. I think the fighters are happy when he leaves

Poorly put together

[stormielynn87 · 2/10 · 25 October 2018]

This is just poorly put together which is such a shame because there was such great potential. But you dont see any technique from the fighters training and fighting because the camera was too close. There were opportunities to talk about local food, diet, observe technique but this just seemed to be about the host trying out some of the training techniques and his fear of rats and foreign food. The way each episode is filmed and the content chosen is just poorly managed.