"I guess the city of Pittsburgh missed all the fanfare about what a joke this fight is."

Rating: 7/10 (18 July 2019)

I don't think this was meant to be anything more than a send-up of the"Rocky" and "Raging Bull" films, with Stallone and De Niro in their senior citizen alter-egos of 'Razor' Sharp and 'Kid' McDonnen. It is a bit painful to see both men in their boxing trunks, though at sixty seven when the film was made, Stallone cuts more an impressive figure than De Niro at seventy. But hey, as a senior citizen myself, it's cool to see these two celebrity icons get it on for Grudgement Day, even if it was three decades after their prime.
Actually. the guy who stood out here for me was Kevin Hart trying to put together the match between the two aging pugilists. He's got most of the humorous lines in the story, closely followed by Stallone and Alan Arkin in his role as Razor's trainer of record. All of the principal characters trade gags about growing old and out of shape, and if you put your political correctness aside, they are kind of funny. Nice too, to see Kim Basinger growing older gracefully; her real life daughter portraying the young Sally Rose was a nice touch.
One might disagree, but what I thought would have concluded the story more appropriately would have been to call the bout a draw instead of a split decision win for Razor. Not that I'm looking for a sequel rematch, but it would have left both boxers saving face after a long standing feud spanning thirty years. Stick around for a handful of tacked on scenes as the credits roll, the best of which is Kevin Hart's character angling for a rematch between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson. Compared to Stallone and De Niro, they still look like monsters.