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UNDISPUTED Send This Review to a Friend
When you go to a Walter Hill movie, you can expect plenty of raw action, and he is thoroughly at home with this prison and boxing combination. "Undisputed," set in a penitentiary incarcerating the toughest of the tough, leads up to a big last man standing bout that is all about self-respect, gambling and dealing for freedom.
Ving Rhames plays a champion fighter known as Ice Man, who is sent to prison on a rape charge (he insists he's innocent). Remind you of anyone? In the maximum-security surroundings he makes it clear that he's not going to take any guff. He still considers himself champ and everyone better know it. Of course, when there's a champ, there's a challenger. Wesley Snipes plays Monroe, a lifer sentenced for allegedly beating a man to death. He too insists it was a bad rap. Monroe is the reigning champ in prison, where illegal fights are set up under the supervision of a crooked prison guard (Michael Rooker).
The plot thickens with the presence of an inmate named Mendy Ripstein, a gangster honcho who runs a gambling operation from inside. Peter Falk amusingly hams up his portrayal of Ripstein as he gets across the idea that Mendy is a fixer with big contacts. The place is run by a compliant warden who can be corrupted when necessary.
All signs point to the inevitable face-off between Ice Man and Monroe in a bout that is to become legendary. The screenplay by David Giler and Hill offers an abundance of posturing before the fists start flying in earnest, and director Hill delivers the rest.
For all of the swearing and sweating, the story begins to grow tiresome and, despite the gritty surroundings and the thudding blows in the ring, "Undisputed" never becomes moving. A Miramax Films release.
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