There was nothing original or even that interesting about this movie. The plot obviously is based on a parallel universe where Mike Tyson got into lots of fights while in prison and in which there are plenty of underground jail boxing matches.
Most action oriented movies lack some degree of originality which is forgivable under certain circumstances. The first is if the characters are interesting. In this case the characters are very one dimensional each portraying basically one emotion or trait. The most depth any character has is Snipes' who is the typical tough guy with a creative side. The second way an action movie can redeem the lack of originality is by having good action sequences. In this case the majority of action scenes are that new fangled shaky cam. If any director is reading this NO ONE LIKES THE SHAKY CAM. We like to see what is happening. There were a few brief moments when it was basically clear what was going on, but generally not. Another way to save an action movie is to have plenty of action... In this case there was one main fight, a couple of flashback fights and a few one punch fights. Not enough to make up for the lack of plot, characters or quality.
All that being said, it can't be said this movie was terrible. There were a few good moments and sparks of quality, but overall the effect was unimpressive. One nice idea was that neither Snipes not Rhames played particularly good people. Snipes plays a character who is basically neutral. He definitely isn't good but not truly bad either, which is the only truly redeeming quality of the movie.
For fans of the actors, the movie might be worth seeing. For fans of boxing there are a very few redeeming scenes. For everyone else wait for it to come out on video.
Most action oriented movies lack some degree of originality which is forgivable under certain circumstances. The first is if the characters are interesting. In this case the characters are very one dimensional each portraying basically one emotion or trait. The most depth any character has is Snipes' who is the typical tough guy with a creative side. The second way an action movie can redeem the lack of originality is by having good action sequences. In this case the majority of action scenes are that new fangled shaky cam. If any director is reading this NO ONE LIKES THE SHAKY CAM. We like to see what is happening. There were a few brief moments when it was basically clear what was going on, but generally not. Another way to save an action movie is to have plenty of action... In this case there was one main fight, a couple of flashback fights and a few one punch fights. Not enough to make up for the lack of plot, characters or quality.
All that being said, it can't be said this movie was terrible. There were a few good moments and sparks of quality, but overall the effect was unimpressive. One nice idea was that neither Snipes not Rhames played particularly good people. Snipes plays a character who is basically neutral. He definitely isn't good but not truly bad either, which is the only truly redeeming quality of the movie.
For fans of the actors, the movie might be worth seeing. For fans of boxing there are a very few redeeming scenes. For everyone else wait for it to come out on video.