Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Kim Basinger, Alan Arkin, Kevin Hart
Director: Peter Segal
Rating: 2.5/5
Sylvester Stallone & Robert De Niro have starred in the most famous boxing movies of all time - of course, I am talking about Rocky & Raging Bull - and now they face off for the first time.
Yes, Grudge Match sees these two iconic actors go head to head in the ring for the first time, with Peter Segal in the director's chair.
De Niro and Stallone play Billy "The Kid" McDonnen and Henry "Razor" Sharp, two local Pittsburgh fighters whose fierce rivalry put them in the national spotlight.
Each had scored a victory against the other during their heyday, but in 1983, on the eve of their decisive third match, Razor suddenly announced his retirement, refusing to explain why but effectively delivering a knock-out punch to both their careers.
Thirty years later, boxing promoter Dante Slate Jr., seeing big dollar signs, makes them an offer they can't refuse: to re-enter the ring and settle the score once and for all.
If you are a big fan of the Rocky and Raging Bull movies then this is probably worth checking out for the nostalgia factor: however, this is not a classic boxing film.
I imagine that this is an idea that did work and sound great on paper, but Segal hasn't quite pulled it off in practice.
Of course, this has been played as a comedy and is not a serious drama, but even the talents of De Niro and Stallone really couldn't truly bring this film to life.
The boxing duo are never given much to get their teeth into, and sadly, the film is packed with cliché and a million things that we have seen from this genre before.
The dup do their best with what they have got, while Alan Arkin and Kevin Hart will bring a smile to you face from time to time, but this is a film that doesn't live up to the billing.
This is by no means the worse film that you will see this year, but there is not too much here to get boxing film fans excited.
Grudge Match is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now.
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