Un seul deviendra invincible

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.

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.

In a character with Mike Tyson resonance , Ving Rhames plays the heavyweight champ moved and locked to Sweetwater high security pen on a rape conviction. Awaiting him is his contender Wesley Snipes , one time ranked fighter who's beaten all-comers in the prison boxing programme and given the presence of the always sympathetic Peter Falk, as a noted student of the boxing sport , the rest is given . The biggest fight of their lives ! . One man fighting for his honor , one man fighting for his future ..two enemies ..the Mob ..the ultimate Showdown. At Sweetwater prison .The World Heavyweight Champion is about to meet his Match .

A crossover of boxing film along with prison flick with usual ingredients . The outcome , however , is not entertainment enough , though both protagonists , Rhames and Snipes , are utterly convincing in the chinches. Containing credible and violent fight scenes , confronting brute force , pitching , big punch from Ving Rhames against speed , ferocity from Wesley Snipes .Along the way , there's a nod to the traditions and achievements of past title holders . The stunning starring , Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames , are well supported by a good secondary cast with plenty of familiar faces, such as : Peter Falk, Jon Seda , Wes Studi , Fisher Stevens , Dayton Calle , Amy Aquino , among others. The motion picture was well directed by Walter Hill , though a little bit boring .

It followed various sequels : Undisputed 2 Last Man Standing 2006 by Isaac Florentine with Michael Jai White , Scott Adkins . Undisputed 3 Redemption 2010 by Isaac Florentine with Scott Adkins , Mykel Shannon Jenkins .Boyka: Undisputed 2016 by Todor Chapkanov with Scott Adkins , Julian Vergov .

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.

Seems like an eternity since director Walter Hill ("48 HRS.", "Streets of Fire", "Southern Comfort") made a really good movie and his latest offering "Undisputed" shows that Hill still has the skill to create a clever movie.

"Undisputed" is the second movie about boxing that Hill has done, the first being his feature debut "Hard Times" that starred Charles Bronson and the late James Coburn in the mid-seventies.

The tale takes place at an isolated Arizona maximum security prison where a former heavyweight boxing champ (Rhames) is sent to serve a sentence for rape meets a counterpart (Snipes) who is an undefeated champ in the prison ranks and the opportunity to have the two fighters face each other in a bout arranged by a former mobster (Peter Falk) who still has mob connections outside the prison and a devoted fan of the sport.

And the result is a sharp and hard-hitting boxing drama with the fight being the center piece. Snipes and Rhames are terrific here and the supporting performances are just as good especially Michael Rooker, Wes Studi, and Falk, too.

"Undisputed" may not top "Rocky" or "Raging Bull" in being the best movie about the sport, but it deserves some mention.