Ibrahim or as he`s called in The Martial Artist, Ibby `The Prince` (writer, producer, director Shaz Khan) cannot see beyond himself. Constantly indignant (with an itchy fist), overconfident of his talent, unappreciative of his family and his girlfriend, he is a walking, talking time-bomb.

Training to make it big as an MMA fighter under his cool-minded brother (Babar Peerzada), Ibby`s destructive path and his unrelenting ego takes centre stage in a film about self-realisation, finding one`s centre and growing up.

One, of course, sees all of this in The Martial Artist`s trailer, where Ibby has a fall from grace because of his ego, and goes to faraway mountains in Pakistan to train with secret, skilled fighters and, of course, find redemption.

So what`s new or rather, what`s to look forward to one may ask? The fights: two small fisticuffs and just two main competitive mixed martial art combats, one set in the barren desertscapes of Arizona, the other at the foot of the ruins of a Mayan temple (the location looks like Caracol Mayan ruins in Belize). The events, a part of Extreme Combat Championship, are broadcast live online and have no referee or spectators (apart from assembled personnel). One can see the training in action, and the reliance on fewer cuts or cheating editorial splices to better appreciate the length and breadth of the choreography.

The second aspect: Shaz, of course, along with Sanam Saeed, Faran Tahir and Shamayale Khattak, but primarily Shaz.

The film is his showcase; an international film (it`s in English) that`s written to be close to home, yet consciously centred on its main character, aka `the martial artist` of the title.

When one takes a look around 2025 so far, The Martial Artist singles itself out as a good-enough film. For the most part, by its theme and plot, it smokes the competition, and earns the label of being an `original` product.

However, The Martial Artist, as a film, is not without faults. The film`s screenplay (by Michael Ross Albert and Shaz) is jagged and unemotional, despite the heavily forced sensitivity.

The events and how they`re written for the screen, feel irregular and broken perhaps because of the raw, hard-cuts of Shaun Khan`s edits, and the unrefined sound mix (the sound edit and placement is fine), especially when it comes to the entries and exits of the background music (Kudrat Kamiljanov and Daniele Truocchio provide the original score).

The Martial Artist looks like it was assembled in the edit from a lengthier shoot, or a longer screenplay. Some decisions, like jettisoning out the entirety of Ibby`s MMA journey (we don`t see any of it) gives one an impression of the film`s limited budget.

Another big slip-up comes in the form of a plot-point that`s set up as a `big reveal` that rattles Ibby`s brain; this instance (which I won`t tell) hardly qualifies as a `reveal` because the reality of that situation had already been shown to the audience. The big surprise, therefore, is never a surprise, and takes away from Ibby`s moment of realisation.

These two points take some magic out of an interesting indie-film that, like Shaz`s martial artist in the film, still has some growing up to do.

Released by Hum Films in Pakistan, The Martial Artist is rated `U` (Universal, suitable for audience of all ages) and stars Shaz Khan, Sanam Saeed, Faran Tahir, Shamayale Khattak, Thesa Loving, Gregory Sporleder, Nyk Schmalz and Philippe Prosper. The film is family-friendly and features scenes of non-brutal combat