Grudge Match

Grudge Match

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Kim Basinger, Kevin Hart

Directed by Peter Segal

Thirty years ago there were two boxing matches by rivals Henry "Razor" Sharp (Sylvester Stallone) and Billy "The Kid" McDonnen (Robert De Niro).  The Kid won the first, and Razor won the second, and a grudge match - a third match to determine who was the best - was never done because Razor announced his retirement.

Decades later both men are still haunted by what could've been, but in different ways.  For Razor he kept his issues inside and The Kid verbally expressed his frustrations.  In comes promoter Dante Slate Jr. (Kevin Hart), who wants the boxing legends to do some motion-capture for an upcoming video game.  The two meet for the first time in years, and a fight ensues, which lands on YouTube and makes both the men famous again.

Both men agree to the grudge match and begin training to get back in shape.  Razor recruits his old trainer Lightning (Alan Arkin) while The Kid's illegitimate son,  B.J. (Jon Bernthal), agrees to train him.   In the center of the two is Sally Rose (Kim Basinger), who has a history with both men, but really loves Razor. 

As the match nears, both men get more in shape and face their inner demons which results in a grudge match for the ages, and for the aged.

To say this was disappointing would be an understatement.  Getting together Rocky and Raging Bull for a boxing movie, on paper, probably sounded amazing.  What results, though, is an under performing film filled to the brim with old man cliches and muddling sappy moments that leaves the entire film feeling disjointed, awkward and boring.

The acting caliber was probably too high for this sort of film, as it seems all the actors were struggling with the drivel they were given.  There was zero to no chemistry between any of the actors, especially between supposed love interests Stallone and Basinger.  The faint light of hope of the film comes from Bernthal's performance, but it was too lightly used. 

Ultimately, no one cares about a grudge match that involves such a horrible script and razor-thin plot.

My Rating: C+