“Ain’t no champ in here but me!” —George Chambers
Today’s quick review: Undisputed. Heavyweight boxing champion George “Iceman” Chambers (Ving Rhames) loses everything when he is convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. Determined to get out and reclaim his title, Chambers jumps at the opportunity when Mendy Ripstein (Peter Falk), a cantankerous mobster, offers him early parole in exchange for fighting Monroe Hutchen (Wesley Snipes), the California prison champion.
Undisputed is a crime drama about a prison boxing match. Ving Rhames and Wesley Snipes square off as the world champion and a prison favorite, respectively. Undisputed uses flashy presentation and a cutthroat setting to set the stage for their match. While the plot is linear and has few frills, solid characters, tight fight scenes, and a nice sense of progression make it an interesting watch.
Undisputed gets most of its strength from its leads. Chambers and Hutchen are opposites in every way. Chambers is a menacing fighter who relies on strength and dominance to cow his opponents. Hutchen, on the other hand, is a level-headed convict who rarely speaks and uses speed and technique in the ring. Seeing them size each other up and get ready for the fight is one of the main draws of the movie.
Undisputed’s main shortcoming is that the stakes are not as high as it makes them out to be. Hutchen, serving out a life sentence, has nothing on the line except bragging rights, while Chambers cares more about the payout than the fight itself. As such, the movie is missing the personal angle needed to make it truly satisfying, putting it a step below the best fight movies.
Give Undisputed a shot if you’re in the mood for a fight. Undisputed is short on some of the niceties that other sports stories have, but the movie scores with its leads and presentation. Still, its lack of subplots or personal stakes leaves it a little thin, so exacting viewers may want to steer clear.
For a less intense movie about prison sports, try The Longest Yard. For a prison drama without the boxing angle, try The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Cool Hand Luke, or The Last Castle. For another boxing movie, try Rocky, Creed, or Real Steel. For a much more violent, ludicrous prison competition, try Death Race. For an action movie about a fighter just out of prison, try Blood and Bone.
[6.1 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281322/). I give it a 6.5 for a credible bout between two tough opponents.