Summary
6 tech score
Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro in “Grudge Match”; photo courtesy of Warner Brothers
“Grudge Match” (Warner Brothers)
Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone square off against each other in the comedy/drama “Grudge Match.” These two show business veterans show there is still plenty of life left in them as they capture the essence of two older boxers who are convinced to have a “Grudge Match” to determine who is the better boxer. Kim Basinger provides the love interest and Kevin Hart and Alan Arkin provide the comedy for an overall satisfactory film.
At one time Henry “Razor” Sharp (Stallone) and Billy “The Kid” McDonnen (De Niro) were champs in the boxing world. They fought two matches against each other with Sharp winning one and McDonnen winning the other. They were supposed to fight a third match but Sharp announced his retirement.
Now boxing promoter Dante Slate (Hart) has come up with an idea for a “grudge match” to settle the matter once and forever as to who is the better fighter. It takes a lot of persuasive powers but he finally convinces both men to agree to the fight. At this time Sharp’s old flame Sally (Basinger) reenters his life. And her son BJ (Jon Bernthal), who is also McDonnen’s son, contacts his father.
As you can see this movie gets complex pretty quickly. Throw in the fact Sharp is trying to take care of his aging manager/trainer Louis Conlon (Arkin) and you have something for everyone. There truly is drama, comedy and romance in equal doses.
Stallone and De Niro play off each other successfully with memories of “Rocky” and “The Raging Bull” fueling the flashbacks. Each actor has some good moments in the movie with De Niro being a little better in the acting arena than Stallone. Basinger is stunningly beautiful as the woman involved with both men. Bernthal is a real surprise as the man trying to acquaint himself with the father he has never known.
Arkin and Hart are both hilarious with Arkin getting and giving even better lines than Hart. Whenever either of these men is on view they draw your attention. When they are both on screen then the movie is at its best comically.
The movie is rated R for profanity, boxing violence and adult themes.
“Grudge Match” isn’t a boxing masterpiece like “Rocky” and “Raging Bull” but it is an easy to digest movie about events that occur in these new characters later lives. The question is whether younger members of the audience will appreciate the value of this “rematch.”
I scored “Grudge Match” a hard fought 6 out of 10.
