83
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Time OutKeith UhlichTime OutKeith UhlichIndeed, you leave the film feeling like Wiseman has given you a glimpse of one of those ephemeral ports in a storm to which all of us retreat at times.
- 91Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerHe is the least intrusive of great directors, and Boxing Gym, which is about a gym in Austin, Texas, is so offhandedly observant that, for a while, you may wonder if much of anything is really going on.
- 90Village VoiceJ. HobermanVillage VoiceJ. HobermanBoxing Gym is a companion piece of sorts to "La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet," Wiseman's previous doc that played Film Forum last fall. It's not simply that boxing and ballet are understood as kindred activities. Boxing Gym is itself a dance movie-which is to say, a highly formalized exercise in choreographed activity.
- 90The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisPugilists and philosophers of all kinds converge in Frederick Wiseman's mesmerizing documentary Boxing Gym.
- 90Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternThis one is both demanding and extremely rewarding, because it's really a meditation on violence.
- 88Boston GlobeWesley MorrisBoston GlobeWesley MorrisWiseman has made several films about both disability and dance, but this new one might be his most hypnotic, rhythmically assembled observation of corporeal expression.
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayViewers' interest in Boxing Gym will likely wax and wane, depending on their interest in martial arts.
- Wiseman's approach will surprise none of his veteran viewers: no voiceover, no real narrative, just a pure evocation of a place that acts both as a specific site and a microcosm of a larger sphere.
- 60New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierWiseman films it all without comment, letting the rhythm of the place tell the story.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterRay BennettThe Hollywood ReporterRay BennettThe film captures the energy, the stresses and the tension of people striking punching bags and each other but without narration, it all feels a bit random and uninteresting.