Release Year: 2004
Average Rating:
Last Reviewed On: November 26, 2005 (by Scott)
(DVD version)
Scott's Review:
on November 26, 2005You know, I really want to like this movie. It's a very moving story about a boxer that comes from nothing to become a major contender. It does it all without really making you think of Rocky. You also feel for the various characters that weave themselves throughout the story, and are actually rooting for pretty much everyone that makes any screen time to get what they want out of life.
There are two main problems I saw with the movie, and I'll do my best to describe them without spoiling the movie. The first problem was with the boxing rules itself. The climax of the movie requires you ignore boxing's rules and substitute them with the rules for professional wrestling. It really took me out of the movie to see an important scene rigged for no other reason than to progress the plot. That's really minor, and would have been forgivable if it weren't for the other problem: The movie seems to degrade into a bit of a dark movie without any reason, other than fitting one more short story into the main characters lives. It felt out of place, and a bit too forced for me to swallow.
Ignoring those two shortcomings, the movie is a really incredible work, but sadly I just couldn't get over those two big issues to really enjoy the movie at the end.
-- Scott and Michelle