Undisputed (2002)

There was a time -- oh, around 1991-1997 -- when Wesley Snipes was one of my very favorite actors. But then he began to get typecast -- his own doing -- into martial arts-related films. He forgot that acting was about...acting. And my esteem for him dwindled...as it seemed to do for pretty much everyone. And this movie is a good example of Snipes not having to act. What he did have to do here was box, and one of the highlights of the film (yes, there are some) is that the boxing was reasonably realistic (and I say that as a person who watches a fair amount of boxing). In fact, I kept wondering how many of those "thrown punches" actually landed at least a glancing blow. The cameraman did a great job filming the boxing scenes. But, as good as the boxing appeared, I still go to a movie to watch acting...and there wasn't much of that here. So, for me, what was the point? The story is okay. A Mike Tyson-like boxer who goes to prison and fights the prison favorite. Ving Rhames actually does the better acting here, and does fine with the boxing, too.Peter Falk has a role as a con who is involved in the gambling side of boxing in the pen; it was meant to be gritty, but comes off as cliché-ish. I always enjoyed seeing Jon Seda on screen, and never quite understood why his big screen acting didn't catch on more.If you wanna watch 2 guys pretend they are boxing, then this is a good film for you. If you wanna watch some good acting, look elsewhere. Okay for a viewing...once.

A prison drama mixed with ROCKY is the basic premise of this unusual but entertaining little movie, brought to us by Walter Hill, a director with a track record of making "man's man" type films. It's as tough as you'd imagine, set within a men's prison inhabited by grizzled veterans (Wes Studi and a delightfully foul-mouthed Peter Falk), hard-ass guards (the underrated Michael Rooker) and various other familiar faces such as Jon Seda and Fisher Stevens.However, this is merely the backdrop. The thrust of the film lies within the world of boxing, and the story carefully pits two very different fighters against each other. An action film this isn't; it's all about the gradual build-up to a single bout, a win-all/lose-all fight to the finish that means the world for both of the participants. Of the pair, Ving Rhames bags the larger-than-life character, a man who turns out to be little more than a glorified thug; Wesley Snipes gets to be solemn and proud, a real departure from his usual tough guy routines, and he makes the film. I won't spoil the outcome, needless to say it pays off nicely.

What a great movie! In this movie there are no good guys or bad guys, just different shades of bad guys. Nobody in this movie is good. Cynicism abounds. Move over Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed. Here comes Monroe Hutchens and George Chambers, and they're tougher, meaner and better actors then anything Balboa and Company could deliver. This movie is fast paced, action packed, tense, with a great plot, as two men immediately square off for the championship of ...? For this is why this movie is so great. It's about anger with no place to go, no place where it can be vented, except in the ring, as hardcore criminals take sides in a fight that plays into their violent natures. The Rocky movies don't even come close to portraying this aspect of boxing. In this movie the fighters ARE violent, they ARE unapologetic and they do NOT like each other. That is, there is no pretentiousness here. The question is a simple one: who will win and who will lose? There are some who may assert that that boxing is portrayed in a negative manner, but that is not the case. In this movie boxing is elevated to the level of a gladiatorial contest where more than money is at stake. So if you want to watch a movie about boxing, this is the movie to watch. It offers the most direct, unabashed, and straightforward examine of one of the most basic form of competition, boxing. Also, Ving Rhames gives a great performance and manages to carry this movie from beginning to the end, and proves once again that he is a great actor.

This movie was a pleasant surprise.I say this because like some of you, I sometimes like to see what my fellow IMDb reviewers have to say about a movie before I check it out. Most of the reviews I saw for Undisputed seemed middling and that put me off for a good while. Recently I decided- "What the hey! I'll check it out anyway!" Am I glad I did because I enjoyed it immensely. (Just goes to show that IMDb reviewers are not infallible, yours truly included.) This was a kind of David and Goliath movie behind bars: This big arrogant heavyweight champion gets sent to prison for rape (Sound familiar?). In prison, he has no respect for anyone and let's them know it. This includes the prison champion. Toward the end of the movie they eventually square off as we know they would (and should).Folks, this movie was "tight". By that I mean there was never any slack in my interest even though there were only a few skirmishes until the big finale. Interestingly, Wesley Snipes's character was surprisingly restrained (unusual, I think) and did not seem that visible. This worked very well for him and the movie in general. We all know he plays cocky very well but this time that role and the spotlight went to Ving Rhames as the heavyweight sent to the slammer for rape. No doubt about it, Ving was intimidating. Like a horror movie, he made me cringe a couple of times and I was safely in my house! Everything worked for me; even the edgy, hardcore rap music in the background of some of the scenes (I'm generally not a big fan of rap music folks, so that's saying something!). Real television news and sports personalities were used which gave credibility to an incredible situation; by the start of the big fight, criminals -from both inside and out- were running the prison. I had to laugh. This is the fun of movies: entertaining you and making you believe in the improbable. The fight commentator was great. I don't know if he was an actor playing one or if he really was one. That's how good he was. The big fight was filmed expertly showing the action from inside, outside, and above the arena (a large cage). The camera person did not miss a beat. The action itself was intelligently choreographed (reminded me a bit of the last Rocky movie) so that it was believable and you couldn't tell what was going to happen. I'll let you in on a secret: this is one of the best and most realistic movie-boxing matches ever put on film! You almost believe that the fight-coordinator(s) took it all from a real boxing match. -And who knows? -Like the idea for Ving's character, maybe they did. I sure as hell felt like I was at one despite the prison setting. Whatever you might think of the rest of the movie, the boxing match at the end makes it all worth it and is not to be missed!!! Love, Boloxxxi.