La Gran Pelea

UNDISPUTED (2002) **1/2 Wesley Snipes, Ving Rhames, Peter Falk, Michael Rooker, Fisher Stevens, Jon Seda, Wes Studi, Denis Arndt, Ed Lover. Hard-hitting yet formulaic boxing-in-prison flick with professional pugilist and heavyweight world champ Rhames facing off with the maximum security's current in-stir (and undefeated) competitor Snipes (both in amazing physical shape and displaying enough testosterone for two flicks). Falk, at his crustiest, is a scene-stealing hoot as the aged Mafioso con that sets up the grudge match and gets the grease to the wheel. Filmmaker Walter Hill (who co-wrote the lean, mean screenplay with frequent collaborator David Giler ) proves to be a formidable genre helmsman but offers the viewer wanting more.

Monroe Hutchens (Wesley Snipes) is the heavyweight champion of Sweetwater, a maximum security prison. He was convicted to a life sentence due to a passionate crime. Iceman Chambers (Ving Rhames) is the heavyweight champion, who lost his title due to a rape conviction to ten years in Sweetwater. Of course they will fight against each other, in a very predictable and full of clichés screenplay.

The story of Iceman Chambers is basically what happened with Mike Tyson. Movies about prison are attractive most of the time and this one is no exception to the rule. The choreography of the fights are perfect, therefore fans of this sport will like it. Wesley Snipes looks indeed like a real boxing fighter. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Invencível" ("The Invincible")

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

The reliably dreary Walter Hill churns out yet another slow-moving,action lacking yarn.The story is an incoherent,structureless bore concerning the impending showdown between Sweatwater Prison's reigning boxing champ (Wesley Snipes) and the rough,heavy new arrival (Ving Rhames).Performance wise,Rhames is quite impressive as a volatile,easily provoked big-brooding thug who makes Mike Tyson look like a pussycat in comparison,but Snipes is wasted as a more reserved,Lennox Lewis-alike who practises oragami in his spare time.And sadly,for an actor who can usually be relied upon to deliver the dramatic goods,for some reason here he seems really disinterested in his role,not bothering to flex any emotion or sense of involvement whatsoever.

In fact,the whole thing seems to have been weirdly inspired by the year's big Lewis/Tyson showdown event.Oh well,the real thing always is more exciting isn't it?**

When heavyweight champion of the world James "Iceman" Chambers is found guilty of rape of a showgirl he is sent to a new prison in the Californian desert where they send all the more unsavoury prisoners to avoid contaminating those "only" convinced of lesser crimes. However there already is an internal boxing contest within the prison and it already has a champ of over 10 years – Monroe Hutchens. Keen to establish who's is bigger, Iceman shows him up in front of the other inmates. To avoid a riot the warden puts Monroe in solitary while Iceman continues to tough it out in prison. As his expensive legal team prepare an appeal and defend all sorts of other actions, elderly mobster Mendy Ripstein starts pulling the strings to put on the only fight anyone wants to see – Monroe v Iceman.

Starting with a solid 15 minutes of style and energy I wondering if the film would be able to keep the pace up but, despite turning it down a little bit, the film does essentially keep moving with energy and style right till the very end. And it is just as well because there isn't really any substance to talk of in this rather noisy affair. The main character is essentially the writer's take on Tyson but the film doesn't really do anything more interesting with it that just hang the suggested similarities out there – Rhames may occasionally try to express something deeper than this but the material isn't there to help him. As it is though, Hill's direction and manner of keeping the screen busy and the camera moving helps inject life into what is really just a cross of clichés from sports movies and prison movies. It had enough to it to engage and entertain me without ever threatening to stick in my mind for much longer than the time it took to watch it.

The cast do a lot to help the impression of substance by providing lots of faces who put in effort. Rhames is a solid lead who does his Tyson impression well without ever lifting the material. Snipes matches him on this level by producing a simple performance but adding an impressive physical presence to the proceedings. The support cast are not all used that well but are essentially an impressive collection of well known faces who do add a sense of quality even if it doesn't deserve it. Falk was a strange but enjoyable find, while Rooker, Seda, Studi, Stevens, Lover and others all fill in around the edges.

Overall this is a fairly vacuous affair that gets by on huff, puff, energy and style and just about does it well enough to provide a distracting film without doing anything great. Two sets of genre clichés are pushed together and delivered with energy by Hill and his impressive cast and, while it isn't anything special it should at least provide brainless filler for 90 minutes.

A solid prison drama with strong performances by Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames, but the film lacks in any form of human emotion or character study and just leaves a dark shell that isn't totally filled and makes you feel unsatisfied. But it's not to say it isn't well-crafted from it's director, Walter Hill. It also has one of the best boxing showdowns shown in a film since the original Rocky and Raging Bull.