[Archaea]

is a movie, formulaic since Rocky, with a kid down and out, a hustler manager, a down on her luck gf, and an evil adversary. Its setting is the illegal backfighting of NYC.

But a funny thing happened on the way to a loser, the unknown actors, put up some surprisingly good performances, making what could have been a very dull script, come alive.

The manager's delivery is offbeat, yet interesting. The fighter plays his part and the villain is fun, not overdone.

So in a movie without deep themes, the understated performances make it enjoyable cinema.