Knockout

Rating: 9/10 (3 December 1999)

The single most powerful film I have seen since "Schindler's List". The opening and closing scenes are technically brilliant and punch you right in the gut - the best direction & cinematography I have ever scene in a film. Everybody that I know who has scene this film has had tears in their eyes by the end.
The film does lose a little steam in the middle, but not enough to make it a "bad" film as others have said. It just pales a bit in comparison with the explosive opening and closing battles.
Some quibble that Spielberg caters to people's emotions and relies on that for his film's impact. Of course he does...iliciting emotion is what makes a film powerful. It has to affect you for you to care about what's happening. Spielberg has a gift for knowing what buttons to push and, while not all of his films are perfect, its why he will some day (if not already) be regarded as the best American director of all time.
The best film of 1999 and possibly the decade. It was robbed at the Oscars. A 10.