Wesley Snipes Movie:

Editorial Review:
Rocky gets a prison-block makeover in Undisputed, and the generic combination packs a vicious one-two punch. Owing much to the macho, gut-busting B movies of Hollywood's golden age, this no-nonsense drama gets right down to business, beginning when heavyweight champ "Iceman" Chambers (Ving Rhames) enters Sweetwater prison on a rape charge. The prison has a boxing program, and convicted killer Monroe Hutchen (Wesley Snipes) is the 10-year undefeated champion. A challenge bout is coordinated by an aging mobster prisoner (Peter Falk) and the head guard (Michael Rooker), and Undisputed pummels its way to its brutal and unpredictable conclusion. Colorful characters abound (foul-mouthed Falk is the hilarious standout), and seasoned director Walter Hill (coscripting with his Alien partner David Giler) brings them together with invigorating focus. There's not an ounce of fat on this tough-minded movie, and even its inevitable outcome seems freshly unexpected. Obviously inspired by Mike Tyson's ill-fated escapades, Undisputed turns fact into potent cellblock fiction. --Jeff Shannon

Undisputed [Region 2] Reviews:
classic by the numbers movie updated
2009-10-10 -
Back in the 1940-1950s, boxing movies were a dime a dozen. Often, they were done on a low budget or what they called back then "B" movies.

There was a formula to boxing movies: it was corrupt and an innocent victim usually the boxer himself ending up either in jail or fighting to save his life at the expense of gangsters who fixed fights in order to make money. Sometimes, the boxer would be caught in a love triangle between two women: A good girl who had his best interests at heart; and the bad girl who was beautiful, sultry and toyed with the fighters affections usually at the behest of the gangster. In the end, a moral was taught and the fighter came out OK in the end. In short, boxing was a metaphor for life: someone who with will and determination triumphed over adversity and lived to see a better day.

Fast forward now to 2002. Times have changed and the formula has changed with it. The boxing movie of today has to have edge, attitude but underlying the basic theme, the metaphor or life still applies.

We have in Ving Rhames, somewhat of a Sonny Liston character toughened to the point that nothing affects him and he won't be intimidated. Success in the ring hasn't softened him one bit.

On the other end, we have Wesley Snipes; a fighter of great promise only to have everything cut short because of murder. Snipe's character too is toughened because of bitterness over what could have been and instead of riches and fame, he has to settle for being the "baddest man in the prison system".

I'm not going to give away the whole scenario here but if you are a boxing fan and that includes collecting boxing movies, then this movie is a MUST. It's well done and the production values are good and the fight scenes are realistic and believeable.

Peter Falk who is the "boxing historian" of the prison sets the rules NOT using Marquis de Queensbury rules. The outcome I won't give away but if you want a good second movie to go along with "Cinderella Man" or "Raging Bull" or even "Rocky" (some A list examples), this movie is for you.

Undisputed, Undisputed II and What about Bob
2009-09-28 - I live in Wellington, New Zealand. I have tried unsuccessfully to buy these Dvds for my partner for his birthday both here at home and when I was recently in Melbourne, Australia for a few weeks this month.
My sons who both live here in NZ told me all their friends use Amazon in the States so told me to try there.
I won't bother using NZ and Australia websites when I'm looking to buy gifts anymore. I'm totally an Amazon.com fan!!! I am so rapt that all three Dvds were available and only just arrived yesterday in plenty of time for my partner's birthday on 19th October.
Well worth the $69 (our currency).
I highly recommend Amazon.com and will be emailing everyone (77 friends) to let them know this is definitely THE VERY BEST website I've found.
So I'm going to get everyone I know and their friends and families to use Amazon.com.
Annette C.


movie
2009-07-08 - The movie's great came in just in time no scratches of any kind nothing more or less.

"People play baseball. Nobody plays boxing."
2009-01-18 - So, no, this isn't Jane Austen's UNDISPUTED. This is Walter Hill at the helm and he brings his own brand of taut urban grit to the film. UNDISPUTED is a prison drama, a boxing movie, and a character study. It's peopled by hardened characters you probably won't want to hang out with, except in the confines of cinema.

It's exciting times at the Sweetwater correctional facility, up in the Mojave Desert, and specifically for the California State Inter-Prison Boxing Program. George "Iceman" Chambers (Rhames), the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, just pulled a Mike Tyson and now comes to Sweetwater to serve out his sentence. The Iceman, new rooster in the crib, promptly learns that the prison system already boasts its own undisputed champeen, Monroe Hutchen (Snipes), a onetime ring prospect sentenced to life ten years ago, and without parole. Hutchen's boxing record also renders him undefeated. This doesn't sit too well with the Iceman, and dude is quick to challenge Hutchen for his place in the pecking order. Stoking the situation is a shambling old mobster, a bigtime boxing fan, who schemes to pit these two hard dudes against each other. And there's your movie.

Iceman wasn't that far wrong when he said that "People love a guy who can fight." I'm a diehard boxing fan, so UNDISPUTED caught my attention when it came out. UNDISPUTED is lean and economical; it doesn't waste time getting down to business. And I appreciate it not only for its intense character play but also for its occasional referencing of old school pugilists (Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Rocky Marciano, etc.). Walter Hill, director of some of my favorite action films (The Warriors (The Ultimate Director's Cut), 48 Hours, Streets of Fire, Trespass), has a knack for drawing out the brawny fan joy in a guy. In UNDISPUTED, he gradually builds things up for the inevitable fighty fight. More of a drama, not a lot of sustained action, other than Iceman and Hutchen's respective matches at the start of the film (to establish their fighting creds) and then the big crunching bout at the end. In between is plenty of prison politics and mind games, posturing and quick bursts of aggresiveness, mostly perpetrated by the Iceman, all of which scenes are quite fascinating.

Wesley Snipes gets top billing but has the less showy role. Even though the introspective, solitary Monroe Hutchen is the prohibitive protagonist, he doesn't come across as the classic hero type. Recalling that Monroe Hutchen was convicted of murder, I guess we eye him as the protagonist mainly because he exudes a calm, nonaggresive demeanor and because he's seen as the underdog (the Iceman outweighs him by a bunch). Ving Rhames, early on tapped as the volatile big bad, actually gets more screen time than Snipes. I like that the Iceman isn't the typical dumb heavy; he demonstrates a certain cunning, as he negotiates with or unleashes violence on the Sweetwater denizens. The Iceman realizes that his fellow inmates continually look to test him. That he's so willing to start shiznit isn't as indicative of his innate brutality as much as it is a course of action he feels he has to take to survive in penitentiary. Rhames' two encounters with Snipes (the cafeteria and shower scenes) before the bout are memorable and fraught with tension.

So, yeah, a menacing Ving Rhames and a resolute Wesley Snipes drive the film. But there's a peppering of interesting supporting characters, with Fisher Stevens, Michael Rooker, and Jon Seda all getting chewy bit parts. But none of those are more colorful than Mendy Ripstein, that aged gangster convicted of tax evasion, played with wicked elan by Peter Falk. Allow me to inject my favorite quote from Falk's character: "#@%$!!" I've never seen the elderly cuss so much as Peter Falk. He drops so many F-bombs in one scene that I couldn't help crumbling with laughter. Not that I rub elbows with mobsters, but I thought Falk was quite convincing as an old wiseguy with clout. When the warden threatens to derail the upcoming bout, Ripstein tells his peeps: "You know the drill. You help him... or you hurt him" That's a cool line.

*** SPOILER in this paragraph *** If I remember my boxing urban legend correctly, rumor was that, years ago, the retired Sugar Ray Leonard was contemplating a comeback but first wanted to test himself. He fought a closed doors match with someone and got his whatsis soundly beaten. Naturally, Sugar Ray denies this ever happening. UNDISPUTED shares something of that flavor. Snipes and Rhames put on a good tussle, both in tremendous shape and athletic enough to pull off the boxing thing. Snipes himself trained with renowned boxing trainer Emanuel Steward in prep for this role. And, while Snipes may be underweight in this bout, you have to be totally new to movies if you can't pick out the winner. At the end, the undisputed champion is the one still reigning in stir, while the other fella gets released from prison and regains his heavyweight crown. Except that, nowadays, he's also busy killing this rumor about how he got his whatsis handed to him, that one time behind bars.

Straight Up Fight Film
2008-08-31 - This is a straight up fight film with a simple new twist, it takes place in a prison.

I always enjoy seeing Peter Falk, and the character he plays as the gangster is great.

Once the stage is set, you pick your favorite to win and watch as the fight unfolds.

Great entertainment.