'Against the Ropes' Movie Review (2004)

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Friday, February 20th 2004 at 12:00 AM

Well Meg Ryan has done it again, two horrible movies in a row!

With In the Cut she went out on a limb venturing from the cutesy movies we have known and loved her for and decided that she would try to break into a new genre of acting. Unfortunately with this new style of acting she has lost everything that made her a favorite in my eyes.

Playing Jackie Kallen, the most successful female boxing promoter ever, Ryan gains a hard edge and a slight accent, both of which are most unimpressive in every way of the word.

As Jackie Kallen she decides to take her chance on a winner in her eyes, Luther Shaw (Epps), who may be a little rough around the edges due to his thug-life upbringing, but she is determined to take him to the top and propelling herself into the spotlight at the same time.

If you have seen the trailers to this film you may get the idea that it is a story of taking chances and making the most of what is given to you and working hard to get to the top. Well you would be half-right with that assumption.

After all is said and done you are left wondering what the hell it was you just watched. "Am I supposed to like her o hate her?" you may find yourself acting and you have also got to wonder just who this film is about, Jackie or Luther?

Not only is the screenplay misleading and discombobulated the boxing scenes are horrendous. I heard that Charles Dutton wanted the scenes to look as real as possible, and I know this isn't supposed to be a Rocky film, but give me some intensity. There is zero soundtrack appeal and before Luther's big fight we don't even get a training montage, a little "Eye of the Tiger" goes a long way fellas.

Against the Ropes is an example of all-around poor filmmaking on every level from the actors to those running the lights, and I can't recommend you watch it…EVER.

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