Official Synopsis
In “Grudge Match,” Billy “The Kid” McDonnen (De Niro) and Henry “Razor” Sharp (Stallone) are two local Pittsburgh fighters whose fierce rivalry put them in the national spotlight. Each had scored a victory against the other during their heyday, but in 1983, on the eve of their decisive third match, Razor suddenly announced his retirement, refusing to explain why but effectively delivering a knock-out punch to both their careers. Thirty years later, boxing promoter Dante Slate, Jr., seeing big dollar signs, makes them an offer they can’t refuse: to re-enter the ring and settle the score once and for all.
But they may not have to wait that long: on their first encounter in decades, their long-festering feud erupts into an unintentionally hilarious melee that instantly goes viral. The sudden social media frenzy transforms their local grudge match into a must-see HBO event. Now, if they can just survive the training, they may actually live to fight again.
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Grudge Match starts out well. You get a quick background about the beef between both fighters. Henry ‘Razor’ Sharp (Sylvester Stallone) was the champion and pulls out from a fight with Billy ‘The Kid’ McDonnen at the last minute to retire without giving reason. 30 years passes and the two fighters are well passed their prime. Razor is content in life, but poor. The Kid is very well off with several successful businesses, but still feeling unaccomplished because of the canceled championship fight. Two very different lives that contrast, but are equally unhappy thanks to that one missed fight.
Things change, though, when ESPN does a sports segment on the 30 year anniversary of the fight, which stirs up emotions, as well as the interest of a wannabe promoter, Dante Slate, Jr. (Kevin Hart). Wanting to capitalize on this revitalized interest in the two boxers, Slate proposes a final fight to both fighters, so they can finally decide who the champion is going to be. Both fighters reluctantly agree and the film begins a roller coaster ride of antics playing off the characters’ bitterness for each other.
Right in the middle of the old man jokes and training, the story changes from comedy to drama. Razor pulls out from the fight when his long lost love, Sally (Kim Basinger), decides to show up. To counter Razor, The Kid’s long lost son, B.J. (Jon Bernthal), looks to add some more complication to the story arc. The tie between these two very different storylines is that B.J. is Sally’s son, whom she conceived with The Kid during a one-night stand. So, you see the craziness here, right?
Well, this is the type of film that was walking on a fragile concept that wasn’t meant to be incredibly deep on the storytelling side of things. You have a lighthearted comedy between two fighters, in the same vein as Grumpy Old Men, and then suddenly it becomes a bit too dramatic for its own good (unlike Grumpy Old Men). The dip in this valley of the story is too deep for the comedy to recover it. By the end of the film it just seems like it isn’t as fun as it started out being. All the moments created prior to the drama are now wasted, and caring for the fight at the end is extremely tough to do. Simply put, the story became over-complicated and couldn’t find its way back on track.
Granted, the movie ends well, but still the dramatic dip in the story really hurt it more than it should have. It took a funny movie and made it way too serious for its own good. It’s okay to have some sprinkle of drama in a comedy, but not so much that it takes away from the quirky ‘coming-back-from-old-age’ comedy that the film had been spending the first and second acts setting up.
This doesn’t mean that the film is bad, but it could have been so much better with a little bit of work on the script and less drama. Stallone and De Niro are fantastic in it, as well as the back and forth between Kevin Hart and Alan Arkin (wish they had more moments). You will get some solid acting from your players, but the story will fail them in the end.
As for the Blu-ray portion of this movie, it’s another solid hit from Warner Home Video. They are certainly in the top three when it comes to HD transfers (Paramount and Lionsgate are right in there too). You get nice crisp and clean picture quality with Grudge Match and some solid greens, yellows, browns and blacks/whites. There is no color banding and no compression issues; rather just another good Blu-ray from WHV.
On the feature side of things, here’s what to expect:
– Behind the Scenes: The Bull & The Stallion
– Behind the Scenes: In the Ring with Kevin Hart
– Behind the Scenes: Kevin Hart Unedited
– Ringside with Tyson & Holyfield
– Blow by Blow with Larry Holmes
– Alternate Opening
– Alternate Endings
– Deleted Scenes
Honestly speaking, I’ve seen better movies with far less features. I’m surprised and happy that this film comes with this much extra. The features are solid as can be. The Behind the Scenes segments are quick hitting with good intentions and beef to bring more to the film once it’s finished. The Kevin Hart segments are hilarious, you’ll enjoy them.
The Ringside segment with Tyson & Holyfield is pretty funny, though staged a bit. The Blow by Blow segment is entertaining and the alternate opening/endings are pretty good. The deleted scenes should stay deleted, though entertaining.
Again, I’m impressed with what they’ve put in the special features of the Blu-ray. There’s some solid stuff here.
Own “GRUDGE MATCH” on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD on 4/8