Gladiator (No, not that one) (1992)

[Snake 165]

This movie is bananas! Starring Cuba Gooding Jr., James Marshall and Brian Dennehy, it's about how Dennehy has a secret underground fighting ring and has scouts just kind of around town that look for local street toughs. One of his scouts sees Marshall's character beat up someone in the streets and invites him to join.

 

Dennehy is a force of nature in this movie, it's great. He has a secret move where he says the crown of the head is the hardest part of the body, so he intentionally gets punched there to break people's hands in fights. The actual fighters / street toughs are hokey, Westside Story types that for example run away from high school teachers when confronted, even though they're ostensibly in their mid 20s.

 

The fights are cartoonish as well, but the whole movie is played really seriously. It's got that great, bad movie juxtaposition of complete and utter unrealistic nonsense happening while everyone is acting really serious. The "boxing" fights involve more kicking, eye gouging and before the bell sucker punches than it does actual, legal boxing.

 

It's getting a 25% on RT. It features Brian Dennehy punching Cuba Gooding like this:

 

 

Why can't I embed YouTube clips anymore? They always get truncated and then don't embed

Edited April 4, 2015 by Snake Lee

[Bugs Meany 69]

I worked in a video store in the summer of 2000. Older customers would bring this to the counter and ask if it was the one playing in theaters.

 

P.S. Try changing https to http and leave off everything beginning at the ampersand.

 

[SlidePocket 707]

It's also made by the director of Road House, so you know what you're gonna get.