"Grudge Match" is an entertaining film about art imitating life imitating art.

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2015)

Surprises are nice. Surprises are interesting. Surprises are fun. It's surprising when a pair of aging boxers show that they can still bring it. It's surprising when aging actors show us something fresh and new. It's surprising when people who have very good reasons to hate each other find common ground. And it's surprising when a movie that you expect to be formulaic turns out to be much more.
Life imitating art imitating life is what "Grudge Match" (PG-13, 1:53) is all about. The film stars two actors in their late 60s playing boxers, while both actors had famously played boxers on film in the 1980s. This movie is not Jake LaMotta versus Rocky Balboa (although that would be interesting since the former was a real person and the latter is a fictional character). This pairing of screen legends who have played boxers before and are now playing different boxers who, in the story have boxed before is plenty interesting in its own right.
Sylvester Stallone is Henry "Razor" Sharp and Robert DeNiro is Billy "Kid" McDonnen, boxers who came up in the sport as rivals and grew to hate each other, but decide to reunite – professionally, if not personally. When the two light heavyweights first fought each other for the championship, Kid won. In the rematch, Razor won. The tie-breaking grudge match that everyone wanted to see never happened because, for very personal and private reasons, Razor retired from boxing while still in his prime.
Fast-forward 30 years. Razor is living a lonely life and barely making ends meet. Kid is a local businessman who is moderately successful, but still nurses a grudge against Razor for refusing to allow him to redeem himself after his one lost fight. When a motion-capture video session for a new boxing video game featuring the two boxing legends leads to a physical confrontation that is caught on cell phone cameras and goes viral, the son (Kevin Hart) of Razor's former boxing promoter brings the two old enemies together so the world can finally see them finish what they started.
But before the fight can take place, both men have to overcome their personal animosity, mend fences with others from their shared past and, of course, get their well-past-their-prime bodies into fighting shape if that's possible. Razor's old friend Louis "Lightning" Conlon (Alan Arkin) trains Razor, while Kid is trained by his estranged son, B.J. (Jon Bernthal), who often has his precocious son Trey (Camden Gray) in tow. Kim Basinger plays Sally, a woman who has something of a history with both Razor and Kid.
"Grudge Match" doesn't take the easy way out of anything – and the effort pays off. The professional, physical and personal challenges that both men face aren't easily overcome. The drama feels genuine and is perfectly balanced by well-earned laughs. Basinger (a previous Oscar winner) gives the story just the right amount of gravitas and Kevin Hart provides the comic relief, with more than a little help from Arkin and Gray, not to mention the stars themselves. Stallone and DeNiro could've mailed in their performances, but instead, they both give us some real quality acting. DeNiro is alternately funny and heart-breaking, but without falling back on his grumpy guy routine of which we've seen a little too much in the past few years. In fact, DeNiro's character is no comedian, but is the more upbeat of the two main characters. Meanwhile, Stallone is sullen, without being depressing, funny when appropriate and seems to show genuine emotion as he works through a number of personal challenges.
But the appeal of this movie doesn't just come from the talented cast. The story is original enough to be engaging and is further enhanced by well-paced and balanced directing and seamless editing. The movie also contains a very appealing soundtrack, with a great mix of well-known tunes and some very cool new music. Even the film's obligatory training montage feels fresh and the climactic fight sequence manages a surprise or two. And speaking of surprises, don't be in too much of a hurry to head for the exits when the credits start to roll, or you'll miss two very clever final scenes.
"Grudge Match" tells an interesting story, with plenty of laughs, scenes that'll make you smile and even a touching moment or two – and does it all with an unexpected amount of originality. This film fought through some well-worn territory and emerged as a very pleasant surprise – and with an "A-" from me.