Undisputed (2002)

In the world of rank boxing, there are many notable fights which can be measured on one hand. But in the world of Cinamatic boxing there are dozens which have been made into Hollywood legends. In this release, called " Undisputed " the result was the creation of a boxing Classic. It is the story of the Heavyweight Champion of the World, George 'Iceman' Chambers (Ving Rhames) who has been arrested, convicted and sentenced to prison. Undefeated on the outside world, Chambers learns that at Sweetwater Prison, another man shares that distinguished title. That individual is Monroe Hutchen (Wesley Snipes) who hold the record of never having lost a boxing match. However, even though a fight between these two athletes is inevitable, the Warden moves to quash the event. However, Mendy Ripstein a Mafia gangster (Peter Falk) from the old days steps in, uses his considerable influence and the special match is back on. The entire confrontation is seen by officials as a potential explosion, the Captain of the guard, A.J.Mercker (Michael Rooker) believes he can control over 700 riotous inmates and one memorable fight to the finish. Jon Seda, Wes Studi, and Fisher Stevens as James 'Ratbag' Kroycek, add to the dramatic intensity and over all excitement which is the main-stay of this incredible film. With top notch acting and believability of the superior actors, (especially when Rhames and Snipes are equally matched) the result is one cage fight away from memorable entertainment. ****

Fmovies: I'm sorry if that comes across as harsh but this film is a complete mess, both in the editing room and to the bewildered acting from some usually tidy performers. The plot is a straight forward one that doesn't call for much ingenuity on the viewers behalf, we can reasonably expect competent acting and choreography in what is basically an unofficial biopic of Mike Tyson's conviction for rape and his subsequent time in prison.

Instead of putting heart to the story the makers have simply plonked two big name black actors in a prison setting with one having a bigger mouth and ego than the other, and all this leading to a big punch up to decide who is the rugged and toughest man on the planet !. Throw away interview scenes of the woman raped by our main protagonist don't garner sympathy or merit because they are so misplaced and badly acted they seem like an edited after thought.

Poor film and in one scene where Michael Rooker looks bemused at the fight between Ving Rhames & Wesley Snipes.......it says it all, it's embarrassing so don't be fooled by the talent appearing in the movie, they are all wasted and deserve better, hell we all do, 2/10.

As soon as this prison movie starts you realise it was directed by a young inexperienced director who has been influenced by rap videos on the MTV channel and multiple viewings of OZ . As soon as a character is introduced BOOM a rap track starts and we see a caption giving the characters name , their crime and date of sentence . One can't feeling that this young director wanted to include a flashback scene but possible litigation by HBO stopped him . The real bad news is that the director of UNDISPUTED isn't a young hip director who has potential - the director is Walter Hill and it's obvious his career is in free fall as he bombards the audience with all types of choppy MTV effects

This wouldn't be so bad if there was a great storyline but the script doesn't even reach being mediocre and it's really quite bad . Heavyweight champ James " Iceman " Chambers is sentenced to 6 to 8 years for rape ( Gosh I wonder who that could be based on ? ) and the prison Mr Fix-it Mendy Ripstien arranges for Iceman to go head to head with prison champ Monroe Hutchen . I take it Ripstien is Jewish ? And he's sentenced for tax evasion ! Hey don't worry about clichéd stereotypes or anything like that . Oh and despite being a maximum security prison Mr Ripstien has friends who are white , Latino and African American . Even Hutchen has a colleague who's white . Hey anyone who wants to see what a success American ethnic diversity and multiculturalism is really must get themselves sentenced to some serious time in an American maximum security prison where everyone respects one another and never judge anyone on the colour of their skin

I suppose the laughable unreality of a melting pot inside an American prison stops everyone noticing the rather poor casting choices in this film . I notice Ving Rhames is very often filmed from the chest upwards and rarely takes off his shirt . Is this because the audience won't be fooled into believing a 42 year old man with a fair amount of flab is unconvincing as a heavyweight boxing champ ? I think it might . Wesley Snipes is well buffed but it's painfully obvious he's far too short to be considered a heavyweight and in reality he'd only be a middleweight in boxing terms . That said I doubt if the audience will be able to connect with either fighter anyway since one's a rapist and the other is a murderer so why should we be cheering on either man ?

Undisputed fmovies. Outstanding movie with prison combined with boxing. A heavyweight title holder(Ving Rhames)is sent to Sweetwater Prison on a rape charge. It doesn't take long for the movers and shakers to set up a match with the champ and the prison champ(Wesley Snipes). A battle of undisputed undefeated. Very good fight scenes and you almost feel the sweat. A little slow at times, but the big showdown is all worth it. It is obvious Snipes and Rhames worked hard to pull this off. Peter Falk plays a vulgar mouthed resident gangster that thinks he rules the prison. Also in the cast are: Fisher Stevens, Wes Studi and Michael Rooker. This one goes the distance.

UNDISPUTED (2002) **1/2 Wesley Snipes, Ving Rhames, Peter Falk, Michael Rooker, Fisher Stevens, Jon Seda, Wes Studi, Denis Arndt, Ed Lover. Hard-hitting yet formulaic boxing-in-prison flick with professional pugilist and heavyweight world champ Rhames facing off with the maximum security's current in-stir (and undefeated) competitor Snipes (both in amazing physical shape and displaying enough testosterone for two flicks). Falk, at his crustiest, is a scene-stealing hoot as the aged Mafioso con that sets up the grudge match and gets the grease to the wheel. Filmmaker Walter Hill (who co-wrote the lean, mean screenplay with frequent collaborator David Giler ) proves to be a formidable genre helmsman but offers the viewer wanting more.

I'm not usually a Wesley Snipes fan but here his zen-like demeanor is put to good use as the underdog in a match between the world champeen and the local hero in a maximum security prison. This film feels like an example of the old adage that a small budget often results in greater creativity. Just feels like some old pros f***ing around with a genre film, having a good time, and the thing is quite fun so long as you're comfortable with some updated cinematic cliches, a weird Peter Falk and you're not the type who always needs a message in their cinema. Very good fight scenes.