|
|
|
LINKS
Dan D: Master of filmFrankenblog a-ha official The Dark Knight Batman On Film Bjork official Christopher Lee official Depeche Mode official Digital Bits Downey Unlimited Hollywood Reporter Jim Carrey Online Morrissey Solo Mozaic New Order Online Pet Shop Boys official Stallone Zone Star 5 Super Hero Hype  
DISCLAIMER:
All words posted on this blog are the sole property of Michael Duffy (except where noted). Images are collected from the web and are shared herein to illustrate film reviews and opinions. If you are the owner of an image and do not wish to see it used for these purposes, please email me and I will remove it. |
Thursday, October 04, 2007
 Undisputed(2002) Caught this under-seen gem the other night on BBC of all places. This is an interesting little movie about boxing...in prison. Directed by Walter Hill, who's been involved with everything from the Alien franchise to 48 Hours. He also wrote the screenplay for The Getaway (1972). Can' t say I'm too familiar with the director's work, but I am somewhat more familiar with the recent careers of this film's stars, Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames. Mr. Rhames seems to take almost any part that's thrown at him, and he basically plays variations on the same personality in almost everything I've seen him in during the past few years. I was a little bit bored with him, but he shines in this movie. Snipes used to have a promising career, starring in some early Spike Lee movies, and forging himself into a competent action star with the Blade series (like the first one, love the second one, don't know what went wrong with the third). I haven't seen anything Snipes has done since this film, but from what I know, everything he's done since Undisputed has gone direct-to-dvd (in the U.S. at least), and he's had some real-life problems like being prosecuted for tax evasion that have kept him filming these low-budget Euro co-productions conveniently out of the country for some time... So this movie is somewhat of an artifact of his career, a turning point (however minor) into his current "what happened to him" reputation... Undisputed was released theatrically, if only for a week or two. I've heard minor rumblings and been curious about this movie ever since it showed up. And now that' I've seen it, I know why. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, there are many small pleasures and interesting moments to be had, including the film's fluid editing, and never-a-dull-moment pace. I've heard the film was chopped up by its studio, Miramax (who have a history of doing this to their product). I'm wondering if Hill's original "Director's Cut" might have been significantly more substantial in its themes and subtexts... However, what we have is the movie here as it is. And what I like about it is its simple, straightforward approach. Ving Rhames' character, who is a championship boxer convicted of raping a woman (heavy shades of Mike Tyson's life here), is transferred to a maximum security prison where another boxer rules the ring. Snipes' character has been undefeated there for the entire of his 10 years incarceration, and he doesn't take too kindly to Rhames' sudden arrival and bullish nature (cue "Who's the real champ?" dialogue). Each of these characters have a couple of interesting bits of characterization to them: We never find out if Rhames' character actually raped the woman. We are given bits of her television testimony, and his staunch denial. And Snipes, well, he's like a Zen toothpick master when he's not in the ring. He spends his time in solitary confinement patiently assembling a house made out of toothpicks and glue. I kid you not! Every scene is transitioned to through some basic gangsta rap, the kind you here often when the filmmakers want an "urban" flavor to their movie. But something I can't explain about the use of music in this movie -- there's something unique about it. And then, there's Columbo. Yeah, you heard that right, Peter Falk shows up, playing an aging mafia leader who is a scholar of boxing. He doesn't add much to the proceedings, but when you need a quirky character to bounce the hard-core Rhames or Snipes off of, it works. The boxing itself is excellently choreographed -- to the point that I honestly didn't believe these guys were acting or "faking" it. There's already been a direct-to-dvd sequel to this movie, starring Michael Jai White (he of ill-fated comic book adaptation Spawn), and there's talk of a third from that film's director. Seems like something Undisputed did tapped into some minor audience or genre that needed some attention, and now they've got an interesting little franchise on their hands... There's just something about it, something I feel like the makers "got" about boxing and the attitude of its participants. It's hard for me to actually recommend this picture, but for a nice distraction one night, you could do worse than this strange, slightly stupid, but ultimately interesting B-movie. |