Cast: Wesley Snipes, Ving Rhames, Peter Falk, Jon Seda, Fisher Stevens, James Kroycek, Michael Rooker, Wes Studi
Director: Walter Hill
Producers: Walter Hill, David Giler, Brad Krevoy, Andrew Sugerman
Screenplay: David Giler & Walter Hill
Cinematography: Lloyd Ahern II
Music: Stanley Clarke
U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films
"Visceral" is a word that comes to mind when considering Undisputed. Others are "clichéd", "predictable", and "obligatory". Aside from the effective, climactic fight sequence, the film doesn't have much to offer in the way of entertainment value. One of the keys to making a movie like this work is giving audiences a rooting interest. In order for that to happen, we have to get to know a little about at least one character beyond what's on the surface. But Undisputed isn't interested in characterization, even of the most perfunctory sort. As a result, the film fails to strike a responsive chord until the end, when the two boxers are beating the crap out of each other.
Ving Rhames deserves more credit than Wesley Snipes for doing an impressive acting job in the face of a thin script. Rhames attempts to give us a character, and there are moments when he almost succeeds. In the end, however, his George "Ice Man" Chambers is doomed to slip into the role of the Arrogant, Overconfident Superstar, but there are times - especially when we wonder if he's guilty of the crime for which he was convicted - when we sense something more. And Rhames is nearly good enough to bring it out. Nearly, but not quite. Snipes, on the other hand, spends most of the film looking sullen. His Monroe Hutchen is the Pouting Underdog, and there's never anything more to him than that. (Unless you count the fact that he likes building models with toothpicks.)
Monroe is serving a life term in California's Sweetwater maximum security penitentiary when Chambers arrives. The Ice Man's ticket behind bars was punched when a rape charge stuck. On the outside, he was the World Heavyweight Champion, but, inside, Monroe is the top boxer. From the first time these two meet, there's friction, and, as Monroe cools his heels in solitary confinement, Chambers' arrogance earns him the enmity of nearly every other prisoner, except his Native American cellmate (Wes Studi). Meanwhile, an aged mafia boss, Ripstein (Peter Falk), arranges for Monroe and Chambers to fight each other. He pays a steep price to each: $2 million to Monroe's sister and a quick parole to Chambers, but they agree to the bout.
Undisputed is an average B-movie with no aspirations to be anything more. The storyline is reasonably well paced, and director Walter Hill soups things up with various photographic tricks (black-and-white flashback inserts, jump cuts, and on-screen text notes that tell us things about the characters). Undisputed is about as basic a genre cross-breed as it can be, never venturing beyond the expected boundaries of the prison/boxing arena. An individual's propensity to enjoy the film is easy to judge - those who like scripted fights will applaud Undisputed.
The film has two highlights - a profanity-laced monologue by Peter Falk about boxing and the one-on-one confrontation between Monroe and Chambers in the ring. If there's a reason to see the film, it's for these sequences. (Unless you're bothered by Falk saying "fuck" about 30 times in 60 seconds.) Although my intellect was lulled to sleep by the familiar, uninspired rhythms of the majority of the picture, it was roused near the end. The boxing match is brutal and energetic, and because there's no real rooting interest, we are able to watch the fight somewhat clinically and observe the effective way in which Hill has choreographed things. In the past, the director has done some memorable work (48 Hours, for example) and a lot of completely forgettable stuff. Few will dispute that this film falls squarely in the latter category.
© 2002 James Berardinelli