Michael_Elliott Undisputed (2002) *** (out of 4)Heavyweight champion George 'Iceman' Chambers (Ving Rhames) is convicted of a rape he says never happened and is sent to prison in the prime of his life. Inside the prison is a boxing ring where Monroe Hutchen (Wesley Snipes) is the champ. It doesn't take long until mob boss Mendy (Peter Falk) talks the men into a battle between the undisputed champs.For some reason, UNDISPUTED turned out to be yet another box office disappointment for director Walter Hill, which is really too bad because this here is a rather fun movie for what it is. Perhaps what it is is why it didn't catch on with the public but, again, that's too bad because the film is actually a lot of fun as long as you don't take it too serious.The film really plays out like one of those Warner prison dramas from the 1930s. Not the "A" list ones but a low-budget "B" movie where you got a nice cast, threw them behind bars and then let everything play out. If you're looking for messages or heart-warming drama of character being built then this isn't the movie for you. Everything happens rather quickly and without too much reason but both Rhames and Snipes are so fun that you can overlook any flaws.Hill does a great job at slowly building up the anticipation to the fight. There are some really fun mini-battles between the two men and all of this really gets you pumped up for the eventual fight. Once the fight happens the entertainment continues as it certainly lives up to everything the director has built up. Not only do Rhames and Snipes do a nice job in their roles but we also get good support from Faulk, Michael Rooker and Wes Studi.Again, if you're expecting some sort of hard hitting drama then you're going to be disappointed. This is the type of movie where you just turn your brain off, kick back and have a good time with it.

merklekranz Straight from maximum security prison fantasy land comes this rather average fight film. You have to get passed quite a bit of "that could never happen" in "Undisputed". I mean, boxing is treated like it's the main feature in a resort, rather than a prison. Neither Ving Rhames or Wesley Snipes character is sympathetic, so you really have no one to root for, thus the outcome is a "so what"? Another problem is the rapid fire editing, which is nothing more than a damn annoyance. The story is both straight forward and totally predictable, so what you are left with is a lot of male posturing, but very little substance. The movie pales next to the great bare knuckles fight film "Hard Times", because the story simply isn't engaging enough. - MERK

Woodyanders Arrogant, brutish, but smart and formidable heavyweight boxing champion George "Iceman" Chambers (superbly played with swaggering brio by Ving Rhames) gets sent to prison on a rape charge. While in jail Chambers encounters modest, yet agile and fearsome reigning inmate champ Monroe Hutchen (a nicely understated performance by Wesley Snipes). Wily mobster Emmanuel "Mendy" Ripstein (an excellent portrayal by Peter Falk) sets it up so Chambers and Hutchen can find out who's really the best in a major high stakes fight. Director Walter Hill, who also co-wrote the lean, compelling, and intelligent script with David Giler, brings a tremendous amount of flashy style and invigorating burning energy to the absorbing narrative: the brisk pace rarely lets up for a minute, there's no filler to speak of, the tone is appropriately hard and no-nonsense, and the big match with Rhames' savage strength pitted against Snipes' lithe speed is extremely fierce, gripping, and exciting. Moreover, there's a welcome and refreshing moral complexity to the neatly contrasting main characters: Although a convicted murderer, Hutchen's low-key and reserved philosophical nature makes him likable while Chambers' raging ego and cockiness ensures that he's hateful and unappealing throughout. The first-rate supporting cast helps a lot: Michael Rooker as sympathetic head guard A.J. Rooker, Wes Studi as Chambers' obsequious cellmate Mingo Pace, Jon Seda as Ripstein's loyal caretaker Jesus "Chay" Campos, Fisher Stevens as the weaselly James "Ratbag" Kroycek, and Dayton Callie as Chambers' cagey manager Yank Lewis. Rhames and Snipes, both of whom are in exceptional ripped shape, make for thoroughly plausible fighters. Lloyd Ahern II's glossy cinematography, Stanley Clarke's moody score, and the rousing rap soundtrack are all up to par. Well worth seeing.

translator where do you begin? first off, there are so many characters that after a while you just stop giving a damn. they just keep popping up. when they first appear on screen, we get a freeze-frame with their name, crime, etc. in the best of guy ritchie fashion. such "meta-cinematic" devices are totally out of place here, and detract from the movie's overall tone and seriousness.which brings me to the second point: with so many characters, there's an overabundance of dialog. i mean, the movie's supposed to be a boxing/prison movie, yet it's got more lines than "pride and prejudice"! i guess they needed to "spice up" the clichéd and simple, yet always effective underdog-becomes-champ plot. and spice it up they do - with more paper-cut characters and trite, go-nowhere dialog.however, the movie's biggest problem is that it spends infinitely more time depicting the bad guy, than it does our hero wesley. he's got at least 5 times as much screen-time. AT LEAST. the bad guy's obviously directly inspired by tyson, and the movie's further "spiced up" by flashback interviews with the victim and himself. please. just let them beat the sh*t out of each other.i haven't watched the movie until the end, i got too bored. even the fights, while excellently choreographed, seem to require annoying commentary by an inmate in order to be more interesting. if your depiction of boxing ain't interesting enough in and off itself, then you've got a problem, buddy.like i said, i haven't seen the end, but i guess it's not that hard to predict. the good guy wins. which would be okay, if we got a chance to know him.