The Challenger (2015)

Fantastic!

Admirable film.

Absolutely brilliant

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This movie was pretty painful to watch. There is nothing innovative about it. I'm not a critic per say, I've just seen a lot of boxing movies. This is really a combination of every boxing movie all crammed into one poorly executed mess. If you know anything about boxing, you know that the movie doesn't even try to be believable. The boxing itself was pretty bad. The lines were predictable and trite.First of all, no one goes pro, and gets a title shot in 6 months. That's not even enough time to even have an amateur career. Guys train for years just to turn pro. I mean, I realize it's a movie, but give me break.Overall it was really quite bad, and not worthy of Michael Clarke Duncan. If you were trying to make a parody of all the boxing movies, this would be it.

The film had potential overall, despite its flaws in lead character transformation. We needed to feel more engaged in the process as the story line developed. The Challenger may have missed the mark in accurately portraying the sport of boxing, but a story of 'the underdog overcoming the odds' never grows old. Novice writer/director, Kent Moran, may have a bright future ahead of him if he continues to hone his craft by taking more risks and researching subject matter with greater detail. As an actor, I would like to see more layers of emotion and facial expression invested in a lead character role as this one. Body language is a very powerful thing. It should reach out with more intensity, willing to reveal its vulnerable side. That is how an audience connects to integral characters and relates to the underlying story. You have to experience a certain amount of empathy it intends to project as the film progresses.I did enjoy the film's merit and prose, and in particular the presence of Michael Clarke Duncan in his final supporting role as an actor. He did add substance and warmth to this project. The personal tribute and clip of him supporting The Challenger, including its modest crew, spoke volumes about his character and dedication to the small budget film industry. R.I.P. Michael C. Duncan. Never to be forgotten. ~D~

absolutely nothing original about this movie. its a knock off of rocky, or like a bunch of other boxing movies, but very poorly made. The build up is rushed, the boxing training is short, he goes from boxing in a local club to fighting for a title after 7 fights, lol, its almost embarrassing to watch. anyone who has watched real boxing, will find this ridiculous. The main character, the boxer, is sort of lame, he show no real hunger to either train or fight. it feels weird. the main fight of the movie, is poorly made, you don't see, not even half a round; you only get some silly glimpse of the roundsAnd both take damage way beyond what they would ever be able to handle in reality, which makes it look even more ridiculous. I urge you not to waste your time or money.

Possibly the best part of this movie was the fact that Michael Clarke Duncan starred in it, three years after his death. The movie does showcase what a good man we lost.Duncan plays a coach who sees potential in a poor kid from the Bronx who tries to fight his way out of his stereotypical life story.Unfortunately, the timing of this movie stinks. Despite the fact that it was most likely made first, it's released after the far better South Paw, makes me think of it as a low budget South Paw.What does set it apart from other boxing films is it's commentary on where boxing is today and what can be done to fix it, namely a Cable station wants to exploit the challenger with a reality show that leads up to his fight with the current heavy weight champ as to way to bring back the Heavy Weights that have been long gone since Tyson/Holyfeild.The challenger has a lot to its story without being too overwhelming. Although the actors were not that convincing for me as even light Heavyweights, they all worked together well to give an emotional heart filled story. The Best part of the boxing scenes is the advice the coaches would give the athletes in-between rounds. The focus on this, especially with Duncan's character is what the challenger brings to the table.Not the best boxing movie I've seen but it works for me. R.I.P Michael Clarke Duncan.