Tapped Out (film)

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Tapped Out is a 2014 action drama film directed by Allan Ungar. It stars Michael Biehn, Krzysztof Soszynski, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Cody Hackman, and Martin Kove. The movie runs 108 minutes and was released in Canada and Brazil before arriving on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on May 27, 2014.

Plot
When Michael Shaw is 12, he’s a karate prodigy. During a carjacking, his parents are killed, but Michael hides in the back seat and sees the killer’s tattoo. Seven years later, Michael is a troubled teen living with his grandfather and doing community service at a rundown karate school run by Reggie Monroe. He rediscovers his love for karate and meets Reggie’s niece Jen, who invites him to a local MMA fight. Michael recognizes the fighter Dominic Grey as the man who killed his parents and decides to seek revenge.

He first tries to get help from the police, but they lack evidence. He’s blocked from entering the local MMA circuit, so he considers taking Grey out himself but can’t go through with it. A detective reopens the case, and Michael begins training seriously under Reggie, with help from Reggie’s friends Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida. He enters a tournament with a $50,000 prize that could give him a shot at Grey.

Reggie initially doesn’t want Michael to fight, but relents and trains him. Michael grows closer to Jen, and the training intensifies. Before the final fight, Reggie gives Michael a black belt his late father was close to earning. In the tournament final, Grey taunts him and uses dirty tactics. A manager tries to interfere, but Reggie stops him. Michael fights hard, defeats Grey, and spares him by breaking his leg rather than killing him. He wins the prize money and gives it to Reggie. Grey is humiliated and later imprisoned for the murder. Michael and his grandfather later visit his parents’ grave and place the black belt there, feeling their pride.

Filming took place mainly in London, Ontario in September 2012, with additional scenes featuring Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida filmed in Toronto.