(Credit IMDb) George "Ice Man" Chambers (Rhames) is a top ranked heavyweight boxer. However Chambers has his world turned upside down when he is accused of rape and sent to prison. Upon his arrival he hears talk about Monroe Hutchen (Snipes) who is the top ranked prison boxing champ 10 years running. Immediately there is bad blood with Chambers not wanting to be second to no one which leads to a lunch room fight between the men. Figuring it will be a good way to make money fellow convict Emmanuel 'Mendy' Ripstein (Peter Falk) sets up a prison boxing match between the two men to decide who is the real UNDISPUTED champ. Michael Rooker plays a guard, Fisher Stevens, John Seda, and Master P co star.
Undisputed was a movie that passed that time nicely, but also a movie I was very much half and half on. This movie had all the makings of a classic boxing drama, if only a little more time and effort was added to it. I got the sense that Wesley wanted to keep Monroe's character (Snipes, considering he said so according to IMDb's trivia for it) mysterious to the viewer and not give us too much insight, but I really feel more background to his character, and giving us more reasons to care about him would have helped a lot. I enjoyed the confrontations Iceman and Monroe had, they were intense and heartfelt. The movie also does a nice job by not making Iceman a complete ass*hole. Enough to the point where we fear him, and get annoyed by him, but the filmmakers were smart to make him a tad sympathetic in places. The problem I had was the buildup. We are not given near enough time to be fully satisfied with it. Longer running time and a better script would have tremendously made this a classic showdown that ultimately wasn't meant to be. The final fight itself is well choreographed and watchable. Snipes is convincing as a boxer with Rhames looking fittingly intimidating. I just felt it could have been more.
Performances. Wesley Snipes is good with what he is given, but his character isn't very sympathetic. Perhaps that was the point, reading Snipes wanted it that way, but I felt it was a little bit of a mistake. He barely speaks; we only get snippets of what he did to get into the prison. It was very disappointing. He is supposed to be the heroine, the person we identify most with. Ving Rhames does a great Tyson impersonation, no doubt about that. Ving is a bad-ass at it's finest, and I felt he was the stronger of the two characters here. His boxing resume, along with his skills are also impressive. His training is obviously noticeable. Peter Falk is OK but I really didn't get into his character that much. Michael Rooker is sadly wasted as a Prison guard, only shown briefly in places.
Bottom line. It's certainly a watchable effort, but it wasn't as enjoyable as I remembered the first time around. A good script with great character development can go a long way in a movie. But Undisputed just doesn't have that to go that long way. Worth a look though for sure. Just don't get too excited about it.
6/10
Undisputed was a movie that passed that time nicely, but also a movie I was very much half and half on. This movie had all the makings of a classic boxing drama, if only a little more time and effort was added to it. I got the sense that Wesley wanted to keep Monroe's character (Snipes, considering he said so according to IMDb's trivia for it) mysterious to the viewer and not give us too much insight, but I really feel more background to his character, and giving us more reasons to care about him would have helped a lot. I enjoyed the confrontations Iceman and Monroe had, they were intense and heartfelt. The movie also does a nice job by not making Iceman a complete ass*hole. Enough to the point where we fear him, and get annoyed by him, but the filmmakers were smart to make him a tad sympathetic in places. The problem I had was the buildup. We are not given near enough time to be fully satisfied with it. Longer running time and a better script would have tremendously made this a classic showdown that ultimately wasn't meant to be. The final fight itself is well choreographed and watchable. Snipes is convincing as a boxer with Rhames looking fittingly intimidating. I just felt it could have been more.
Performances. Wesley Snipes is good with what he is given, but his character isn't very sympathetic. Perhaps that was the point, reading Snipes wanted it that way, but I felt it was a little bit of a mistake. He barely speaks; we only get snippets of what he did to get into the prison. It was very disappointing. He is supposed to be the heroine, the person we identify most with. Ving Rhames does a great Tyson impersonation, no doubt about that. Ving is a bad-ass at it's finest, and I felt he was the stronger of the two characters here. His boxing resume, along with his skills are also impressive. His training is obviously noticeable. Peter Falk is OK but I really didn't get into his character that much. Michael Rooker is sadly wasted as a Prison guard, only shown briefly in places.
Bottom line. It's certainly a watchable effort, but it wasn't as enjoyable as I remembered the first time around. A good script with great character development can go a long way in a movie. But Undisputed just doesn't have that to go that long way. Worth a look though for sure. Just don't get too excited about it.
6/10