Prizefighter – Movie Review
Director: Daniel Graham
Writer: Matt Hookings (Screenplay)
Cast
- Matt Hookings (Edge of Tomorrow)
- Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast)
- Russell Crowe (Thor Love and Thunder)
- Marton Csokas (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)
- Jodhi May (The Last of the Mohicans)
Plot: At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.
Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Prizefighter starts as a young Jem Belcher who loves watching his grandfather Jack Slack (Crowe) fight in pugilism. His mother Mary (May) doesn’t want him following in this world because of what happened to his father.
Grown-up Jem (Hookings) trying an honest trade, but he couldn’t resist a fight for money. This shows that he is ready to step up to the next level, being taken in by Bill Warr (Winstone). Hereby teaching Jem the art of pug, hoping to create the next big thing in the sport of kings.
Verdict on Prizefighter
Characters
Jem Belcher has a legacy in pugilism, with her great grandfather and grandfather being legends in the world. he had promised not to follow his family into this world, but his skill is too hard to turn down. Jem will rise to stardom becoming the champion of England, showing the consequences of stardom.
Bill Warr is the trainer that sees the potential in Jem, he is strict with how he expects his fighters to train. Even if he is willing to let them free to party away from the training.
Jack Slack is the grandfather to Jem, one of the most famous fighters in the land. A man that strikes fear into anyone that crosses him, despite showing respect in the battle. He wants Jem to follow in his footsteps, clashing with his mother about Jem’s future.
In the supporting cast, we get the wealthy who love watching the fights. Splashing money on them to create a bigger spectacle. The family doesn’t want Jem risking his life in fights, show us what it means to the family.
Performances
Matt Hookings in the leading role is great between the ropes and shows the naïve nature outside of the ropes. This role is personal to him, as he previously had a short movie ‘The Birth of Boxing’ exploring the life of the same character.
Ray Winstone and Russell Crowe bring the movie star power. The pair both get the inspirational moments at different stages of Jem’s life, making you stop to see them deliver the lines with perfection for the world they are in.
The rest of the cast do everything right, even if they don’t always make their characters get the biggest impact in the film.
Story
The story follows the life and career of pugilist Jem Belcher. From living in his grandfather’s shadow, to being champion of England and the downfall of a champion.
This movie does follow the traditional style of biographical movies. Taking us through the biggest moments of the man’s life, showing the highs and lows he goes through. It highlights how the classes were so divided within the world of fighting and that the rich expected the fights to entertain them. the movie gets to show how the sport evolved in such a small time as well, even if the sport that we know a boxing now was still only just becoming a major attraction.
Themes
Prizefighter is a sports biographical movie about one of the most famous former champions of England in pugilism, now known as boxing. It follows the path you expect, with training montages and fights. Placing a bigger focus on the fights that have more at stake. The hits look hard, the blood flies around the ring too.
Where to Watch: Prizefighter is available on Prime Video from 22nd July.
Final Thoughts – Prizefighter is a hard hitting boxing biopic, that never pulls a punch.
