User reviews

The film is okay, entertaining biographical film about the rise (and fall) of a young prizefighting boxer.

However, a few things don't line up with the real timeline. Jem never met his grandfather, he died before he was born. And the rules of boxing seem to be about 60 years younger than they were at this time. Also, whoever decided to put the saturation of the picture on this film to +10000% needs sacking.

I generously give this film 4 stars because the story is terrific even though the movie messes far too much with its much more interesting actual history. I am a fan of early 19th Century English boxing and looked forward to seeing this, especially with Russell Crowe in the cast. The acting is fine, as is the casting, and unlike some critics I like the cinematography. The film also does sort of okay capturing the time's fight game corruption and brutality. However, the script is atrocious, the directing almost as bad, and whoever edited the movie should find some other line of work because scene transitions are so poorly done. All the main film characters existed and had interesting lives. Jem Belcher, England's boxing champion in the very early 19th Century, came from a long line of good family prize fighters including his grandfather Jack Slack, ably played by Russell Crowe, and his father, who is inexplicably nowhere to be seen in the movie. Jem's classic fight with Henry Pearce may have been Europe's best one ever, but its depiction here does little justice to what really happened. I often like shorter movies but this one could have used about 15 more minutes to flesh out the true main character lives. Matt Hookings plays Belcher well and Jodhi May plays his mother, who hated fighting because she grew up with it, even better. Ray Winstone, always amazingly good, gives a performance as Belcher's trainer even better than Crowe's, so those who appreciate quality acting can see this one without feeling like they wasted their time despite the film's serious flaws. With some harder production work this might have been good enough for some award nominations. Instead, I hope the Razzies bypass it for the hard-working cast's sake.

It's well acted, well shot and the score is excellent but it's very confused as a historical account of early 19th century boxing.

The fight between Belcher and Pearce would not have been fought with gloves, nor would it have had timed rounds. It would have been fought under London prize ring rules since it was about 60 years away from the Marquis of Queensbury changing the game.

Pretty good film, good story, some great acting - especially by Winstone - but it doesn't inspire you or evoke emotion like Cinderella Man. Still recommend it though.

The greatest boxing film of all time -- of many to choose from -- is Cinderella Man (2005). It is technically perfect, it remains exhilarating no matter how many times you watch it, it is on my IMDb list of great films, and it stars Russell Crowe. This boxing film also stars Russell Crowe. But the similarities end there. This film is an interesting experiment in combining a sports film with an historical biography ... to see how they mix? The result is entertaining, but in many places awkward and imbalanced. The moment the protagonist becomes champion, he immediately chooses a dark path. The viewer is disappointed. The moment the protagonist has a chance at redemption, the scriptwriter (who is also the star!) borrows every trope and trick you have ever seen in a Rocky film, and throws them onscreen. To see what sticks. Another disappointment. The pattern becomes clear. No matter how often Belcher wins, the audience always ends up the loser.

This can only be described as a poor film. A poor film with a weird Instagram type filter applied to the whole thing. Russell Crowe lifts the few scenes he appears in and Ray Winston is always watchable but the lead is poor and his acting isn't good enough to carry the movie. I fear he was trying to 'do a Stallone' by writing and starring in this film but this is no Rocky. It feels like a really poor TV movie from over 30 years ago. The strangest thing is the 10 out of 10 reviews, very sus. I'm sure none of the film's production team have been on here leaving reviews!?!

Not sure why it has such a low score from the critics compared to the popcorn audience. I enjoyed it. Found it believable. Maybe it's too real. Making a champion is simple. But the simplest things can be difficult. And boring to watch perhaps. Perhaps it's just a little too British? Especially the ending. If you love sports biographies, it's worth a watch.

A scriptwriter's passion project to showcase himself/herself as the next big thing is a noble quest laden with pressure and risk, but the rewards of such a venture can be game changing. It's clear the creator's approach to this production never gave it a fighting chance. It's so poor, on so many levels (the script, the excruciating rocky-esque montage, and those dodgy accents to name but a few lowlights). It's common knowledge you can neither polish or buff one up, yet despite best efforts made, the flecks of A-List showbiz glitter (in the form of Crowe and Winstone) failed to stick to this giant turd. As for us all being 'introduced' to Matt Hookings, by none other than Matt Hookings himself, this truly is a modern day tale of how one man's dream can turn into a bored & curious Amazon Prime subscriber's nightmare.

Interesting story about early boxing in England .

Ray Winstone , Russel Crowe , I bet a few pints were drank on the set .

I think it was ok but was not blown away , I think could have been a bit better .

It was entertaining enough and I watched it all however it never really felt like 1800, the clothes where too 'new' and the lighting on it was too bright. Ray Winstone is a great actor and his quality was completely wasted on this, he was light years ahead of the rest of the cast (except Russel Crowe who was also sound), just lacked a degree of believability for me to actually enjoy it.

Just watched this and enjoyed this biopic of prizefighter Jem Belcher ; not sure how historically accurate it actually is but was entertained throughout with the storyline and good fight sequences , well acted by all with as usual standout performances by Ray winstone and Russell Crowe and a good performance from the lead actor too , well worth seeing.

Thoroughly enjoyed this Film, great cast, and well written would definitely recommend. Just goes to show you don't need a multi million dollar budget to make a good movie, just some passion and good actors.

I love boxing movies and have seen them all. This was like some amateurish production. Matt H cannot act to save himself. Maybe a better lead actor could have lifted this movie up to mediocrity. Russel Crowe was the only good thing about this movie. Don't waste your time watching it, frankly I'd rather have gone to the dentist than watch this!

No...it's not the greatest boxing film ever made. But reading up on Matt Hooking's struggle to get it made adds to the history. You can't compare blockbuster budget films to low budget tributes. It's a labor of love to boxing and family. And has enough really good scenes in it to make it worth a watch.

Biggest complaint is the lighting on the final scene. It was really good and better lighting would have made it great! I loved that it was real boxing.

Russell Crowe is great...and it was wonderful that he stated attached to it. I hope Matt gets more opportunities. And better support for his next venture.

IN A NUTSHELL:

At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism (boxing) was a sport of kings. A gifted young boxer named Jem Belcher fought his way out of poverty and into praise by becoming the youngest champion of all England. The movie is based on an inspirational, true story in British sports history.

The dramatic biopic was directed by Daniel Graham and written by Matt Hookings, who also stars in it!

THINGS I LIKED: Fans of boxing will enjoy the action in the ring. And there is plenty of it. My husband and one of my sons loves boxing and I think they'll like this movie too.

It's the presence of Russell Crowe's face on the movie poster that will grab most people's attention. He does a great job, but sadly, isn't in the movie as much as I had hoped. Still, it's fun to see him in another boxing movie since he starred as the young boxer in Cinderella Man back in 2005!

Ray Winstone is another great catch for this cast. He's crusty, salty, and perfect as Jem Belcher's demanding coach.

I love a good training montage!

Fantastic soundtrack Interesting characters with depth.

It made me laugh (twice) when Jem Belcher gazes off into nothing while the music soars with emotion, and then suddenly, his coach slaps his face to bring him back to reality.

We get to read on the screen at the end of the movie "the rest of the story" about certain characters.

I think I enjoyed this a lot more than most film critics for some reason. The movie isn't perfect, but it's also not as terrible as some are saying.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: The transition from Jim Belcher as a child to an adult happened in a split second. I know that happens a lot in movies, but the editing from scene to scene was super abrupt.

Some of the Extras are terrible. Why does the camera keep focusing on them?

Some of the details of Jem Belcher's life aren't accurate. For example, he never met his grandfather, who was also a well-known boxer in his time. Some of the details of boxing's history are also incorrect.

There's something off about the lighting filter.

The final fight scene is filled with boxing tropes we saw years ago in the Rocky movies.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Profanity and lots of F-bombs Sooo much blood Lots of violent boxing and fighting A man licks blood to show how tough he is. Ick.

Lots of alcohol. One of the characters describes champagne as "something special from the anti-Christ in France." Ha ha Cock fighting is shown An unmarried man and woman are seen tumbling in bed Profanity We see several completely topless women An unmarried man "backdoors" a woman aggressively

THEMES: Family Legacy Discipline Respect for athletes The art of sports Money and prestige.

You know that age old question " what came first? The chicken or the egg?", well this is a real conundrum on how Stallone may have got his inspiration for Rocky! Unlike Rocky however, this is a terrible film. I am not sure how they managed to rope in Winstone and Crowe but things must be very desperate in their schedules to take on the roles they did. The story is poorly told, the acting is awful and the overall look is just terrible. I'm sure the historical significance is an important part of boxing history in England BUT this was a movie that the makers should have thrown in the towel after the first round!

Matt Hookings isn't very convincing here in this rather sketchy biopic of British boxer Jeb Belcher. On the plus side, it conveys really well the gritty side of life in Victorian Britain where the genteel, ostensibly refined, upper class routinely used the travails of the working class as a source of entertainment. This young lad finds himself trained in the school of hard knocks by Russell Crowe's "Slack" whilst being fairly shamelessly manipulated by the clever "Lord Rushworth" (an overly hammy Marton Csokas). The narrative tries quite hard to offer us a plausible series of scenarios as the young man rises from obscurity, but the production is not good. It has a "digital" look to it; there is little authentic about the style and though there is a modest amount of pugilism contained, the presence of the one-gear Ray Winstone ("Warr") adds little to this remarkably sterile period drama. The usually reliable Steven Berkoff is completely under-used, and Julian Glover's "Lord Ashford" is straight out of "For Your Eyes Only" (1981). It's a fitting topic for a biopic. The brutality not just of their chosen, bare knuckle, way out of abject poverty but also of the way in which these men were carefully exploited by others rich and poor as if they were little better than cattle is something worth laying bare. Sadly, though, Daniel Graham has focused too much on delivering a big name supporting cast and left much of the writing and character development to simmer rather than boil. This is an adequate television movie, but a real missed opportunity to depict the story of a tenacious and wily fella.

I was looking forward to this film as I am a fan of boxing history and British history in general. In addition, I love the big fella Russell Crowe and it was great to see Jodhi May back on screen again as she is immensely talented and the last time I saw her was 1990 in the Last of the Mohicans. Unfortunately though, I should have gone in expecting disappointment, because this movie really fell short of the mark in pretty much every way. It felt inauthentic, from the dialogue (basic, at times cringe, I very much doubt that Ray Winstone's brand of Cockney-isms would have been in use then) to the stereotypical generic upper class toff villain. Also, how can people living in the early 1800s have such good skincare? These moans aside, the film felt rushed, there was hardly any middle, and as a result there was no real bridge between beginning and ending, leaving very little character development/viewer engagement and the whole thing utterly disjointed. You can't make a grand stand finish work if there is no momentum to precede it.

Great acting from the Russell & Ray and the rising Matt Hookings!

If you love boxing and drama, this movie is for you. I was entertained throughout and was motivated to get off the couch and start working out!

Really great movie, brought back those vibes of boxing , The characters and their inter-connections are strong enough to hold the interest. Graham has tried to remain faithful to Belcher's life story but this depiction ends up as featherweight, not knockout.

A truly laughable vanity project that ticks every cliché in the boxing film genre. The script is atrocious, as are the majority of the performances. Crowe and Winstone do what they have to do to earn their pay cheques, while Matt Hookings tries and fails to convince as an actor and boxer. Fight choreography is sub-par, while the drama, such as it is, is cringe-worthy. Avoid like the plague.

I enjoy boxing cinema. Rocky, Cinderella Man and others. The production is good for this movie. Good camera work, costume design, etc. The movie falls short in telling the story. Our hero achieves victory early on and then encounters some obstacles. There is a defining moment of injury that would have benefited from a cut away scene to maybe narrate the extent of the injury with a doctor. Our hero's decline is hard to understand. It seems to happen quite quickly but it's really over months or even a year. The timeline is hard to follow. It almost seems as if the movie tried to fit too much into a designated run time which leaves viewers trying to figure out how much time has passed in between scenes.

This movie had potential, but in the end, something was rushed or omitted. It just seems a bit disjointed or a lack of fluency. All that said, I am appreciative of watching it and expanding my knowledge of pugilistic history. I did some web browsing after watching to learn more about or hero's real story.

I love movies, by no means a film critic, but have been a boxer/kickboxer most of my life. Really enjoyed looking into the story of a boxing legend in 19th century England and how they tussled back then. That being said, while the ending had me at the edge of my seat, some parts of the movie dragged on and could have been filled with other more crucial details of Jem Belcher's story? All in all it definitely was not the worst movie I've ever seen like some rating it 1/10 and was a delightful experience if you're not familiar with the world of boxing in the UK over 200 years ago.