A pair of aging boxing rivals are coaxed out of retirement to fight one final bout -- 30 years after their last match.
The jokes are mostly cheap ones about Ageing Bulls.
The screenplay is as sclerotic and slow moving as its two punch drunk leads.
An idea that must have sounded good on paper looks a lot less smart on the screen.
It’s not a travesty but it lacks suspense. You don’t care who wins, perhaps because neither Stallone nor DeNiro wanted to play the bad guy.
Not even saved by the bell.
The Disagreement at the Duck Pond.
Rather than getting us on the ropes and landing some telling blows, Grudge Match keeps its distance and tosses meek jabs. Cheap sentimentality can’t disguise the crashing cynicism on display.
Stallone and De Niro go head to head in this flawed but worthwhile boxing picture.
In the end, the sight of a couple of past-it prizefighters slugging it out for a big payday becomes a potent symbol of each stars’ motivation for making the film.
The implied equivalence between the two films is infuriating.
Time to throw in the towel.
Sylvester Stallone: Robert De Niro persuaded me to get back in the ring
General release. Check local listings for show times.