Gladiator: O Desafio

It might not be on the level of the first Rocky or of Cinderella Man and it gets largely forgotten due to sharing its name with a giant epic of a movie but this is an underappreciated gem form the early 90's which I used to watch repeatedly. It's a rousing and well choreographed fight movie with a likable protagonist. Many have criticized Marshall's performance as stiff but I think it works for the character and his stoic nature. Dennehy was great as the antagonist, one of his better roles honestly. There is some cheesiness and you do get one or two montages which feel like holdouts from the 80's but this is a really good movie with a lot of heart which films from this genre seriously lack these days. Within the category of boxing films it is in my top 5 for sheer enjoyment of it.

Gladiator is a boxing movie which does more than tell you about boxing. James Marshall (A Few Good Men, Twin Peaks) stars as a young man who is forced to move to a poor neighborhood and fend for himself while his dad travels to find work and pay off his gambling debts. In order to make some money, a talented boxer, Marshall joins a crooked boxing organization. He signs up with a former fighter, perfectly played by Brian Dennehey (Tommy Boy, F/X), soon he begins to form a friendship with the top boxer in the league, well-played by Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire, Outbreak). After a while, the crooked boxing and an upcoming fight against a possibly brain-damaged Gooding Jr. makes Marshall re-evaluate what he's doing. Robert Loggia (Independence Day, Lost Highway) beautifully plays another crooked person involved in the organization. Ossie Davis (Doctor Dolittle, I'm Not Rappaport) gives the film a heart as Marshall's manager. Finally, Marshall delivers a strong performance that will make you cheer for him. This film's entertaining boxing scenes and good moral make it a great film

Type "Gladiator" into any search engine for movies, and you'll get pages and pages of Russell Crowe's gladiator epic. Yet, at the bottom of those lists, you may just find this little gem that you've never heard of. If you are a fan of pugilistic big-screen experiences, this is one that at the very least will keep you entertained.

For a basic plot summary, "Gladiator" tells the story of Tommy Riley (James Marshall), a white teenage youngster who (via parental circumstances) is moved into an all-black school and neighborhood. After having enough of the constant bullying and needing money badly, Tommy is recruited into a shady boxing circuit by Pappy Jack (Robert Loggia). After befriending similar hard-luck case Lincoln Haines (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Tommy runs headlong into "big boss" Jimmy Horn (Brian Dennehy) when a huge conflict of interest rises between them.

"Gladiator", in terms of themes, is about as simple a movie as ever was made. I remember watching it off television as a kid and even then being about to follow the themes. While that simplicity keeps it from being a classic, it also makes sure that the movie ages pretty well. Whether you watching this movie in theaters in 1992 or on your flat-screen in 2014, it plays pretty much the same.

Perhaps what shines most from this movie, though, is the performance by Brian Dennehy. That is what I remembered most from the original viewing and what drew me towards finding it again. Along the way, though, I noticed great performances from Gooding Jr. and Ossie Davis as well.

If you are not a fan of boxing movies, I would say you can probably skip this one, as without an appreciate of the boxing-related themes the rest of the narrative will be a bit too simplistic to hold your interest. If you love the "sweet science", though, this one will at least entertain you with some drama and adversity themes.

I think we can safely tick all the boxes above.

I am a huge fan of the sport of boxing and a big fan of boxing movies, for the most part. I have also noted on multiple occasions how good and versatile an actor Cuba Gooding JR. At this point in his career, Gooding JR was still in his early stages, but comes through like a champ in this interesting and gritty underground pugilism movie.

There are lots of montages, plenty of boxing set to cheesy motivational 80s songs. The finale is quite ludicrous but inevitable in these types of flicks, and good triumphs over evil as it tends to do in movies if not real life.

It will never be known as a classic but is in the same vein as some of Van Damme's best… If you love boxing and are a fan of the ridiculous, GLADIATOR is for you. I highly recommend it.

"Anger is the enemy."

I saw this film the other night on tv, and once I started watching it, it was just too hard to stop. I'm not one to really watch boxing, but this movie was very interesting. It was nice to see the relationships between all of the characters, especially between Cuba Gooding Jr. and his best friend, and their relationship with the boxing promoter. The whole film really got me going; and as I yelled at the tv, I realized that this is a really awesome film and more people should see it.