You know, if this movie had been made by anybody else but David Mamet then I would have fully expected to catch this flick late at night on the USA network and for it to star Michael Dudikoff. One look at the trailer above, though, and you know you are not dealing with the usual action cheese.

Redbelt stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as master of Ju-Jitsu who has dropped out of the unscrupulous world of professional fighting. After he helps out a mouthy movie star in a bar one night (as played by Tim Allen) he is eventually forced back into the ring of UFC fighting to defend his honor. There is also a hint of a freaky fighter selection process involving marbles and tying your hands behind your back, but that explanation is best left to the trailer.

Appearing alongside Ejiofor are Emily Mortimer (aka, the woman with 'Avian Bone Syndrome' on TV's 30 Rock), Alice Braga (I am Legend), Ricky Jay (who you might recognize as the cameraman from Boogie Nights and a few million other films), and Joe Mantegna. Mamet, who is a big fan of Ju-Jitsu and UFC fighting, wrote the script himself, and besides a few photo releases this trailer is our first chance to see what the film is actually about. Like many, I was having a hard time reconciling a master like Mamet with this kind of subject matter, but luckily it looks like it is all going to turn out for the best. Redbelt will hit theaters in a limited release on April 25th of this year.

So to start with, I can't say I'm all that jazzed about watching a movie about Ju-Jitsu, but this is one directed by the master of snappy dialog David Mamet -- and so that definitely helped raised my enthusiasm level. ComingSoon.net now has two new exclusive photos from Mamet's sports-drama, Redbelt. News of the film hit last April, when Monika gave us the heads up that Chiwetel Ejiofor had been signed for the lead. Not long after that, Patrick gave us the word that Tim Allen -- that's right, Mr. Toolman Taylor himself, was set to play the spoiled movie star Chet Frank. Rounding out the cast is martial arts master Randy Couture, Joe Mantegna, Rodrigo Santoro, and Emily Mortimer. The first image was released in August and these latest hi-res photos give us the chance to see Mamet at work on set.

Mamet wrote and directed the story, which centers on Mike Terry (played by Ejiofor); the chief instructor at the Southside Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Having shunned the spotlight of competition fighting, everything changes when, "At his brother-in-law's club one evening, Mike saves a famous action star, Chet Frank, (Tim Allen) from a severe beating. His defense of Frank leads to a job in the film industry, but other events conspire to force Mike to participate in a prize fight. An American samurai film set in the world of mixed martial arts, Redbelt is a story about the limits of a single man's integrity." Sounds like a perfect theme for a 'macho' director like Mamet. Redbelt opens in theaters on April 25.