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?