A screaming movie with some boxing undertones

Rating: 4/10 (31 August 2017)

It's been a long time since I last watched it. I could've sworn it was a movie about boxing. About an underdog who gets a chance and makes the most of it.
But as I watch it now, I've come to realize it's in fact a movie about the dangers of brain damage. Every single person in this movie is brain damaged, from the boxers and trainers down to the ice rink janitor, meat hauling half-wit...
There are a couple of different ways how this shows. The most obvious and most irritating one is the way people communicate. Talking to people is done almost entirely via screaming. Everything turns into a screaming match. It is not only tiresome, but also just plain obnoxious.
Many parts of the movie are good, though. The premise is interesting, the setting dramatic just by itself. The boxing parts seem authentic enough, but there's not enough of it here to satisfy those of us who are only here for it.
All other things aside, first hour of the movie is skippable, and the rest pretty forgettable. If you took the screaming out, maybe it'd at least be tolerable, but as it is right now, it's not as good as you might remember. An iconic movie to be sure, but not a particularly good one.