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Undisputed (2002) Miramax Films 1 hr. 34 mins. Starring: Ving Rhames, Wesley Snipes, Peter Falk, Fisher Stevens, Master P, Ed Lover, Wes Studi, Jon Seda, Michael Rooker Directed by: Walter Hill Undisputed Rating:  
E-MAIL FRANK OCHIENG Director-writer Walter Hill definitely knows how to cover his bases by tapping into two separate genres - crossing a prison flick with that of a standard sporting formulaic storyline. The result, of course, is the highly-explosive but tediously generic actioner "Undisputed". Hill ("48 Hours"), a veteran filmmaker known for his action-oriented dramas, helms what appears to be an overactive, spiffy-looking B movie that boasts a talented cast in an otherwise familiar and monotonous premise about two troubled, over-hyped antagonists out to settle a score while using the squared circle as their unique battlefield. Muscle-bound and meticulous actors Ving Rhames ("Baby Boy") and Wesley Snipes ("Blade II") play the daunting duo James "Iceman" Chambers and Monroe Hutchen, the menacing pugilistic pair who are incarcerated at a notorious maximum lock-up state prison facility known as Sweetwater. In Sweetwater Prison, where its location is stationed somewhere in the Mojave Desert, this place has the reputation for housing some of the country's scariest and nefarious murderers and rapists ever to have roamed around previously in a free society. But Sweetwater also has another distinction as well--it's the center where brutally entertaining boxing matches are held amongst the prisoner population for "escapist fun". The resident boxing champ at Sweetwater is Hutchen, an agile and chisled badass fighter who used to be a promising heavyweight contender a decade ago until his conviction for murdering folks put the cork on his pro fighting career not to mention his freedom. But things start to get interesting when word gets out that the "Iceman" Chambers is about to make his presence known at the facility. You see, Chambers had just gone through a highly-publicized scrutiny for raping a white woman (yikes!) hence the reigning heavyweight champ now has to relinquish his championship belt and face a whole new reality inside the dangerous dungeon that is Sweetwater. One doesn't have to be the savvy and verbose Don King to smell the opportunistic possibilities of having the caged-up and maligned jailbird jocks duke it out for what promises to be a dream match for the ages. Basically, it's HBO's "Inside Boxing" meets HBO's "Oz". Hmmm...talk about being punch drunk for the special occasion! "Undisputed" really doesn't have the roundhouse swing to be considered anything more than just another excitable and inflated jab-and-jolt sports-oriented drama. Hill, who co-wrote the film's screenplay with David Giler, has no idea where he wants to take this middling slammer-based slugfest. At least with other punching-packed fare such as the underappreciated spoof "The Great White Hype" or the forgettable "Play It to the Bone", there was a sense of purpose in terms of satirizing the colorful world of boxing by skewering its playful and profitable outrageousness. With "Undisputed", Hill doesn't generate any direction or distinction that one can instantly define for this unintentioned laughable uppercut fable. Sure, the rapid-fire fighting sequences are superbly edited and the trash-talking bravado adds a little animated personality to the raucous proceedings. Beyond these tidbits, "Undisputed" is far from being a potent knockout. The supporting cast does what it can to stimulate the material that's handed them. The always reliable Peter Falk ("Corky Romano") is hilarious as the foul-mouthed mafia insider who's seen it all. And Fisher Stevens portrays the typical sidekick stooge to Snipes's Hutchins character. Overall, the film has a noted swaggering attitude about it that's frenetic and feisty but its not enough to sustain this uneventful and arbitrary rollicking prizefighting prison yarn. "Undisputed", in my estimation, is one opponent that's definitely down for the count. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Frank Ochieng © TheWorldJournal.com |
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