‘Bruised’: First Trailer Released for Halle Berry’s MMA Movie

The first trailer for Halle Berry’s new movie has been released. On Thursday, Netflix unveiled the first look at Bruised, an MMA movie that stars Berry, who is also making her directorial debut. The film was originally released at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. Bruised will be released in select theatres on Nov. 17 and will then stream on Netflix on Nov. 24.

“Jackie Justice (Berry) is a mixed martial arts fighter who leaves the sport in disgrace,” the synopsis states. “Down on her luck and simmering with rage and regret years after her fight, she’s coaxed into a brutal underground fight by her manager and boyfriend Desi (Adan Canto) and grabs the attention of a fight league promoter (Shamier Anderson) who promises Jackie a life back in the octagon. But the road to redemption becomes unexpectedly personal when Manny (Danny Boyd, Jr.) — the son she gave up as an infant — shows up at her doorstep.”  

Berry dropped a behind-the-scenes look at Bruised late last month. The 55-year-old recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly about her new film and revealed that she wasn’t originally supposed to star or direct in Bruised. They gave me the script and I loved the story, but it was written for a twenty-something Irish Catholic white woman,” Berry said. “I couldn’t get it out of my mind, so I thought, is it possible that this could be reimagined for someone like me? Because I think I have a take on it that could actually work — making it about a middle-aged Black woman, someone fighting for a last chance rather than another chance. When you’re young we all get chances, they’re a dime a dozen.

“But when you’re at a certain stage in life it becomes something more impactful and meaningful, right? So about six months later when [Blake Lively] decided in her own time that it wasn’t for her, I went to the producer, Basil Iwanyk, who I’d just done John Wick 3 with and gave him my pitch. And he said, ‘Great, we love that idea. Now go find a director.’” Bruised also stars Adriane Lenox, Sheila Atim, Valentina Shevchenko, and Stephen McKinley Henderson. Netflix acquired the rights to distribute Bruised in September 2020.