Grudge Match was exactly what I wanted it to be. It’s entirely predictable but sometimes you do just want what you expect. It’s Rocky vs. Raging Bull. Of course they can’t literally say it’s Rocky vs. Raging Bull so we have to go through a bit of pretense that they are some other characters with a longtime rivalry.
So Grudge Match begins with an exposition dump via an ESPN show. Razor (Sylvester Stallone) and The Kid (Robert DeNiro) were set to have a tie breaking bout, as each had defeated the other once, when Razor cancelled and retired from boxing. They still hate each other, so when they overlap in a motion capture studio for a boxing legends video game, they brawl and the video goes viral so an enterprising promoter (Kevin Hart) organizes a grudge match 30 years in the making.
Razor pretty much is Rocky, except for he didn’t marry Adrian. Sally (Kim Basinger) is his long lost love, so at least she didn’t die (spoiler for one of the Rocky movies, but you can tell which one Talia Shire wasn’t in). But Razor is a lovable blue-collar guy who charms all the factory workers. The Kid is probably less Jake La Motta, but he is pretty aggressive and verbally abusive so I’ll allow it. Though it is presumably a two hander, The Kid is the bad guy and we’re rooting for Razor. Razor has all the vulnerability and Kid is always hitting someone when their back is turned, so that’s not cool.
I do have to marvel at the way Stallone has always been able to make himself the underdog. This is a massive monster of a man who should by any account be the Goliath to any movie’s David, yet he’s always able to play vulnerable. With Rocky I guess he’s always fighting stronger opponents so he has to work out even harder. Rambo has all the psychological damage and PTSD that no amount of HGH can undo. Demolition Man got frozen and woke up in a sanitized future with all his family dead, and so on…
Of course the whole point of Grudge Match is to make references to all of Stallone and De Niro’s great movies, specifically the boxing movies. De Niro doesn’t have quite as many reference points. Nobody fucked his wife in Grudge Match so what can you do? With Stallone you’ve got raw eggs and meat lockers. There is a “you talkin’ to me” bit but no Fockers references that I could catch.
A lot of the “old guy” humor is pretty silly. There’s an “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” reference, which you’d have to be as old as Razor and Kid to remember. Hart does his schtick and his character gets the guys to sing the national anthem at a monster truck show, which could only be contrived to go badly. Other physical activities that are silly because it’s old guys doing them.
It’s actually way more contrived than necessary. I mean, the whole video game motion capture session depends on the fact that they were booked within an hour of each other and The Kid showed up early. It is a valiant effort to remain relevant with viral videos and technology, but they should probably just know their audience. Show that the old guys still got it, and have the marketing genius tempt them each back into the ring.
When the real backstory of Razor and Kid’s rivalry is revealed, it’s soap opera-y but again plays into Stallone’s ability to be emotionally vulnerable, not just a physical entity. It ends up that Razor is fighting for the working man and the girl, but really that’s what boxing drama is. Give us a fighter we care about, give him something to fight for, and don’t screw it up.
It’s really nice to see some grown ups playing grown up scenes. Don’t forget, Stallone and Basinger are both Oscar caliber actors, and this is relatively mild given each of their edgier work, but you feel for old lovers reconnecting, forgiving and getting a second chance. Even though he’s the villain, The Kid has a heartwarming story with his illegitimate son (Jon Bernthal) and his adorable grandson. Look, every moment of all of their stories I know exactly what game Grudge Match is playing. I just happen to like this game.
The technical specs on the Grudge Match Blu-ray are up to par with a clear picture that never glitches. Like many films shot and projected digitally, it looks a bit flat and washed out. Some movies now just look like someone cranked the brightness up way too high so you can see everything, but scenes that are normally lit get blown out. I didn’t notice it when I saw a press screening in December so it may be a Blu-ray mastering issue.
The bonus features are fun, including a general 15-minute “The Bull and the Stallion” piece on Stallone and De Niro’s legacy, and how Stallone choreographed the entire fight. A number of extras honor Kevin Hart’s acclaimed improvisational wit. An alternate opening actually lets you see the actors who played young Razor and Kid in the ring before they finished the visual effects to put Stallone and De Niro’s faces on them. That’s kind of cool. Alternate endings give you the other two possible outcomes of the movie. A “Ringside” gives away the film’s best cameo so I would avoid even looking at the titles of the bonus features until you watch the film. There’s six minutes of deleted scenes and a three-minute interview with Larry Holmes on his experience with Muhammad Ali.
If you read my review of the entire Rocky series on Blu-ray, you’ll see that I’m actually rating Grudge Match a little higher than Rocky Balboa. I guess it delivered more of a comeback than the actual Rocky comeback movie. To be fair, Grudge Match had the edge because it was two comebacks in one.
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Best Episode Ever and The Shelf Space Awards. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
