xredgarnetx Wooden-faced James Marshall stars in GLADIATOR as a deprived youth caught up in the world of underground boxing. He must make good on some debts of his father's (William Heard), the paper on which is being held by fight promoter and all-around bad guy Brian Dennehy. Marshall makes friends with fellow boxer Cuba Gooding and philosophical corner man Ossie Davis. Director Rowdy Harrington does a great job staging the boxing matches, which include knees to the head, headlocks, choking, shots to the groin and kidneys, leg sweeps, body slams and drugging opponents. Some of the matches are difficult to watch once the nasty stuff starts and the blood begins flowing freely. But that's why GLADIATOR is rated R and not PG-13. The young Cuba Gooding outacts everyone else in this early '90s boxing flick, although Dennehy is in full, frothing-at-the-mouth mode as a man interested only in making money, even at the expense of lives.

MikeSmash Gladiator ranks among Hollywood's B-movie best in the action genre. A simple story of blood & guts, love, greed, racism, & the desire to survive the mean streets is easy to digest for even the most fickle of moviegoers. Gladiator will neither bore you or terribly excite you, but you will appreciate its raw & energetic flow.Gladiator tells the month or so in the life of teenager Tommy Riley (James Marshall), an Irish middle-class kid both intellectual & stoic, recently moved to Chicago's rough Southside. A new school to get used to & gangster hoods preying on himself & his father John for gambling debts, Tommy takes a job as a dishwasher at new found friend Dawn's family diner. One faithful night after pounding members of a local street gang in front their fearless leader Short Cut, Tommy is realized by & impressed with by onlooker Pappy Jack (Robert Loggia), a slick boxing scout. After some coaxing, Pappy Jack gets Tommy to fight in an illegal underground boxing circuit for one fight. An elbow & low blow conjures up the heart & power of lion by Tommy in his 1st fight v. Black Death. What Tommy does not see coming is the evil & cunning of Pappy Jack's boss, Mr. Jimmy Horn (Brian Dennehey), former Lt. Hvywt. champ & owner of the boxing circuit. With his father on the road & gangsters threatening him for gambling debts, Tommy is in way over his head. But Tommy does make some friends along his faithful journey. Fellow boxers Romano Assadro(Jon Seda) & Abraham Lincoln Haynes (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), girlfriend Dawn (Cara Buono), & wise corner man Noah (the late Ozzie Davis). With lust for money & the quest for his new "White Gladiator", Horn buys John Riley's gambling debts, which forces Tommy to fight for him exclusively. Reluctantly, Tommy complies & is successful in 6 bouts. But soon Tommy faces unexpected challenges from his new situation. Romano takes a brutal beating in the ring from Short Cut (not easy to watch). He suffers profound brain trauma & is hospitalized in a county facility for the " poor & indigent." Angered by his friend's savage beating, Tommy takes on Short Cut in a big money fight & wins. Next, Tommy is faced with a bout he never thought he would have to encounter with Lincoln Haynes. Horn & Pappy Jack planned this bout especially to make a lot of $$$ & put Tommy on top as Horn's prized possession instead of Licoln, Horn's "numero uno negro". Tommy refuses to fight Licoln due to Haynes's earlier fight with a much more muscular & dirtier fighter who kicked him in the head, leaving Lincoln with a possible "bleed" in his brain. Tommy tries not to hit Lincoln in the head to no avail. Tommy, seeing Dawn in the crowd sitting next to Horn, pleads with Lincoln that if he loses, Horn will hurt Dawn. After applying some heavy knockdowns on Tommy & soul-searching, Lincoln quits fighting, to Horn's ire. Horn knocks Haynes on his back out of the ring & is given an ultimatum by a furious Tommy. Tommy challenges Horn to a bare knuckle brawl leaving Tommy & his dad's debts paid or Horn's bad boy forever. Of course, Horn accepts. After a short while of battering, Tommy hurts his right hand. Sensing victory, Horn closes in on the seemingly worn-down & beaten Tommy. In fine fashion, Tommy rises to the occasion by surprising Horn with his feigned broken right hand & beats Horn to a 10 count convincingly. Tommy used Horn's own philosophy against him which was," When you're weak, you act strong & when you're strong, you pretend to be weak." The ending shows Tommy & Lincoln shaking hands to cement their friendship, which is probably the only sentimental & touching moment of the whole film.Gladiator proves that with an adequate cast & superb fight scene quality by Tak Fujimoto, even a lower quality movie can surprise. Roddy Herrington needed better script writing to bring this movie up an intellectual notch but supplies just enough verbal "punch" to get over with. Dennehey, Gooding, Jr., & Davis provided the star power for the film, which was good to those who know their previous work. Marshall gave a subpar performance as Tommy Riley, even at times to be terribly wooden or too "stiff" in his character. Jon Seda, Lance Slaughter, T. E. Russell, Cara Buono & the rest of the cast were barely adequate in their roles, thus leaving the viewer to forget their performances.Gladiator. Better than boring. Worth a look on a lonely & rainy Sunday afternoon.

George Parker "Gladiator" (1991) tells of a young down-on-his-luck student (Marshall) who takes up underground boxing to pay off his father's gambling debts. In the process he, of course, kicks everyone's butt like some kind of supercharged "Rocky" and captures the heart of the resident babe (Buono). Both Marshall and Buono turn in wooden performances while surrounded by a bunch of B-listers who all appear to be in this gig for a paycheck. Lackluster, obvious, predictable, and very ordinary, this "Gladiator" is one to miss. Now in broadcast purgatory. (C-)

John Seal Any movie with Ossie Davis, Robert Loggia, and Brian Dennehy is going to be watchable, and Gladiator is no exception. Unfortunately, this tale of two friends in the underground world of extreme boxing can't quite overcome either its poorly constructed screenplay or the weakness of leading men James Marshall and Cuba Gooding Jr. Of the two, Gooding is better, but Marshall is uniformly poor in the dramatic scenes, though perfectly fine in the action sequences. The film also trips up by portraying its protagonists as the least likely high school students in America--in fact, everyone attending their school looks well into their mid-20s. When Gladiator concentrates on fight scenes--or when Davis, Loggia, and Dennehy are on screen--it's a more than adequate, though predictable, boxing drama. Overall, it's a disappointment, though not entirely without merit. Approach with low expectations, and you'll be moderately satisfied.