Zwei vom alten Schlag

What a refreshing and unexpected (but nice) surprise Grudge Match was for the wife and I to sit down on a Saturday night, plop the Blu Ray disc in and for the next 2 hours, just enjoy a decent film minus any drugs, knife fights, or guns a blazing. When you have two major action stars such as Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone one might expect that the testosterone level on the big screen would get a bit heavy especially considering the movies theme is about two old and retired fighters who come out of retirement after 30 years to put the gloves back on and get back in to the ring to settle a very old score since both fighters won one of their two previous matches while in their prime back in the 1980's.

Robert DeNiro plays Billy "The Kid" McDonnen. Now Billy has a very big ego and since his boxing career ended prematurely 30 years ago he has done pretty good for himself owning his own car dealership and a successful bar called the Knockout. There is one scene in the film that I just grinned from ear to ear as Billy did a stand-up comedy routine in his bar with a puppet dressed as a prize fighter sitting in his corner as Billy bantered back and forth with the prize fighter dummy. The scene is less than a minute long but I give it full credit for the originality.

Sylvester Stallone plays Henry "Razor" Sharp. Now Razor was the guy who decided to hang up his gloves in the prime of his fighting career and we eventually find out why he retired. No spoiler alert, you will have to wait and hear it from Razor himself why he chose to retire from the ring. Razor's life has been kind of frozen in time these past 30 years, and he now works as a laborer in a factory, goes home to an empty house with no TV, cable or internet, and eats canned tuna and over ripened bananas to make ends meet. Razors life seems very depressing. Something is bothering him and the audience gets interested in finding out what makes Razor tick. I would have thought a boxing genre film would have been easier to figure out but the screenwriters did a good job in keeping the plot a bit deeper than most boxing films and we gradually grow to like Razor's character and think less of Billy the Kid's shallow and selfish personality.

There is also a good supporting cast of characters such as Kevin Hart who plays fight promoter Dante Slate Jr.. Dante's deceased father used to promote Razor's fights and Razors' memories of Dante Slate Sr. are not very good as he recalls being ripped off of his prize fight earnings. So Razor instantly is not prepared to go back in to the ring with Dante Slate Jr. holding the purse strings. Eventually Dante convinces Razor to put the gloves back on, but only for a fight simulation video for a software video company who agrees to pay him $15K. The movie is worth watching if for nothing else but seeing Stallone and De Niro dressed up in their head to toe lime green leotards game gear costumes so the techies can video their fight simulation. Did I say fight simulation? Well once Billy and Razor are within ring distance of each other the brouhaha goes viral on the internet and "the fight is on man!" We eventually get introduced to Kim Basinger's character Sally, who plays Razor's old love interest. Something happened to split Razor and Sally apart 30 years ago and we find out why Razor is a bit disenchanted with his life. When Razor eventually does agree to fight Billy for the grudge match of the decade he asks his old and trusted trainer Louis Lightning Conlon, played by veteran actor Alan Arkin. Louis is currently in a wheelchair and residing in an old age home, but Razor still wants his old and trusted friend Louis to get him back in to fighting shape. Razor is an honorable man and true friend as part of his income is used to pay for his friends nursing home costs.

There are a couple of scenes that remind us in a fun way of Stallone's Rocky films that just add to the films humorous theme. Billy on the other hand goes through a few trainers including LL Cool J who plays Frankie Brite, and Billy eventually settles on having his long lost son BJ played smartly by Jon Bernthal to train him.

Before you know it, we are witness to the fight of the decade in front of 18,000 fight fans split between who they want to win the fight. Most film goers always have their own prediction on who will win the main event. Will Razor win? Will Billy the Kid win? Or maybe it will be a draw? As I said no spoiler alert coming from me, so let's just say the ending is a good one. No, let me rephrase this..., I would say the ending is even better than I anticipated it would be. I Give Grudge match an 8 out of 10 ranking for the 10 rounds that Grudge Match went. Watch it and you will not be disappointed. It's a knockout hit.

I saw Grudge Match in an early screening and I (as most of the audience) had so much fun. This is a light hearted, nostalgic film with lots of great jokes and a fantastic cast.

Kevin Hart delivers, he fits just perfectly in his role. Alan Arkin steals the show in this one. He is so damn funny with his great one liners and his impressively cool acting. It is also great to see the beautiful Kim Basinger on the big screen again. De Niro and Stallone look 20 years younger than their real age when fighting in the ring, well choreographed fight scenes by the way. The physics of both Stallone and De Niro is just impressive. Most 30 year old would be more than happy to have a body like these two old-timers. There are some Rocky references in the film, and they are classy ones.

I find this to be the perfect film for the Christmas Days to have a great time at the movies. It certainly is not made to please the critics, it is made to entertain the audience and create a warm, nostalgic atmosphere. And without any doubt, the film delivers! Can't wait to see it with some friends on Christmas Day...

This isn't just a comedy-boxing movie with old people, but a long awaited fight between the actor that played Rocky and the actor who played Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, the 2 greatest boxing movies of all time, and I just had to know who would win. Even though this is the only boxing comedy I even know about, Grudge Match was solid, extremely funny, and even more entertaining. Kevin Hart and Jon Bernthal were fitting choices to round out the ensemble cast. Because Grudge Match didn't take itself seriously at all, this movie isn't for everyone. But if you like these actors and prefer comedy over drama, I think that you will like Grudge Match very much.

Grudge match isa fun movie. It pokes fun at Stallone's most iconic role and at Deniro's Jake La Motta. Henry "RAZOR" Sharp is a talented tough Pittsburgh Boxer who has a rival in Kid MCdonnal. Both are talented and tough where Razor is humble Kid is loud. Where Both were at one time the Light heavyweight Champion of the world. Kid lets that define him Razor does not. When the first fight between them is hailed as a classic and the second fight breaks records and the fans demanding a third one. Razor walks away from billions back in 1984. the Why is a mystery. and the greatest rematch is only a fantasy. flash forward to 2012. Kid is a successful businessman owning a bar and a auto dealership and playing off of his boxing image. Razor is a welder at the dockyards and has been for the last thirty years. Both men are content. razor looks after his old trainer lighting played by Alan Arkin who steals the movie. When Razor and Kid's history is brought up on a sports show. the son of Razor's late manager comes to Razor with a offer film a video game with Kid. Needing the money he agrees to do it for 15 thousand. and when he meets Kid again their hatred for each other literally turns into a brawl that gets the world's attention. And the idea for the Grudge match is born. While training for it. Both men encounter secrets from their past. lost loves and most importantly grudging respect for one another. Stallone and Deniro play this one off wonderfully against one another. Stallone is the straight man and gets the best lines. Deniro is the comedic one and gets the best scenes. And Arkin steals the movie from under them. Grudge match is a good time at the movies . It's not what many people think it is. And because of that it's better then what people think it is.

The movie was exactly what I expected, perhaps with the exception of Kim Basinger who looks smoking hot at an age when most women need hearing aids and false teeth. You have these two old boxers who have had a grudge for 30 years, since they had to fight each other, but the fight was canceled. The film is all about they getting over it via a box match. The fact that they did that after 30 years (time in which neither really had a life) makes it spicier, but basically, that's just the sprinkling on the cake.

I can't say that I got inspired by the movie or anything, but it felt more real than many of the genre, probably because of all the history of the characters making them deeper, meatier. Most movies of this kind use cardboard roles that mean nothing to anyone, like the obe played by Kevin Hart. Even Kim Basinger's role was a typical cliché, the woman that has always loved a man, waiting for him no matter how boneheaded he is.

Bottom line: aside the old actors, this was a typical sports match thing. They train, they say their piece, they fight. Also, except some marketing lines about iPads and some "going viral" lines, this could have just as well been a 70's movie. Robert de Niro was a strange casting for a boxer, but he finally played a role I liked him in since... forever. And Sly Stallone brings a lot more melancholy in this film than in any of the Expendables.