Phantom Punch

Phantom Punch

Phantom Punch

Phantom Punch

Ving and Nicholas must have been hard up for a pay day. They couldn't save it because there was nothing to save and no doubt they both want this one kept quiet.. The fight scenes are some of the worst I've seen in a movie,let alone a boxing movie. Too much left out and all of a sudden he's fighting Ali,who does not even look remotely like the greatest. Mainstream movie which should stay on the shelf. It's a shame because the Sonny Liston story is worth making a movie about. Perhaps one day a real boxing fan will direct it with a decent budget. There are documentaries on Liston that are much more entertaining. I think the entire production lost track and they finally decided to quickly end it,either that or the money ran out. Save yourself the beating and the hour and a half you won't get back.

I like boxing movies and I like Ving Rhames, but this movie just sucks, and that's putting it mildly. The first thing and last thing that ruins it is the unbelievable, relentless, loud , horrific musical soundtrack that overwhelms the entire movie. This is a boxing movie, not a musical or an opera. EVERY fight scene, and there are plenty, is accompanied by raucous, bombastic, showtunes or amateurish 12 barre blues. Not even accompanied, completely overwhelmed. It's lucky that the actual first Liston/Patterson fight lasted just over 2 minutes, so the moron filmmaker could synch it with the music he chose. Dialogues, Liston's run-ins with police, issues with women and the mob, are all set to music, sometimes show tunes, or little jazz piano pieces, and it becomes so jarringly offensive, that half way through I gave up. These miserable songs are overlaid on everything, so it's hard to hear anything else. I had seen it years before , all of it, and wanted to see if it was as miserable as I remembered, and it was worse. I will let other reviewers point out it's hideous misrepresentations as a biopic, but I'm just doing my job by letting you know that if you know anything about the career of this remarkable fighter, or just like the sport, and the natural drama that goes along with many of it's greatest stars, avoid this mess like the plague. It's just all wrong.

I kinda enjoyed this film. I didn't know anything about Sonny Listen so after watching this film, it shinned a little light on him for me. I know the Clay/Ali fight was a major event in his life but the film played it as just another fight. I would of liked to see the build up to that fight, and the aftermath. The movie never mentioned how Clay was harassing him and how he felt about it. Nothing about him shooting blanks at Clay in a Casino. I also didn't understand why he would cheat against Clay when there was no history of cheating before that fight. The film was titled Phantom Punch but he doesn't admit to taking a dive. (Hummm) I did enjoy Stacy Dash in her role. I loved the period piece. Costumes etc.. I liked the possible motive for his death. I enjoyed it but I think I just wanted more on the rise and fall of SL.

When I saw Robert Townsend directing and so many actors I respect like Ving Rhames, David Proval and Stacey Dash I really expected a lot more out of this film. It showed absolute zero of the ferociousness of Sonny Liston, the way he paralyzed Floyd Patterson with fear (in real life Patterson brought a fake beard and glasses to both Liston fights so he could sneak out unnoticed after getting his inevitable beatings) and it showed absolute zero of the build up to the first Cassius Clay fight. In real life Liston slapped Clay in a casino, and Clay famously left a bear trap on Liston's front steps. Sonny Liston was one of the most enigmatic figures of the 20th century, but this film shows none of that. It's basically: convict gets paroled, boxes, deals with bigotry and eventually...well, honestly, I turned it off during the first Clay fight, so I don't know how the film goes after that. This looked to me like a payday for everyone involved. I hate to post a bad review, especially after all the years that I've enjoyed Robert Townsend's work, but this movie was a real stinkeroo! You look at a film like Raging Bull where they were able to make Jake LaMotta sympathetic, even while showing his violent side. None of that is done in Phantom Punch. It's like making a film on Mike Tyson and simply showing that he raised pigeons while he wasn't boxing.

I saw this movie, and wondered why it was not released in theatres. It is a quite good movie, that is very thought provoking especially, concerning the circumstance surrounding Sonny Liston's death. The actor named Ving Rhames does a very good job and is fantastic in it. It amazes me, and I do not understand why the other reviewers are so negative, but if you like boxing and are a boxing history fan, this is a must see..... I thoroughly enjoyed it... And if you're a boxing fan, you probably will too... PS - Robert Townsend is a fine talent as both an actor and director... So watch it and don't be fooled by any negative reviews... :)

I loved it because it was about one of the Greatest Heavyweights Ever in Charles "Sonny" Liston. No, it's not "Casablanca" but it is time well spent for former fighters like myself and boxing fans. We love just about anything on The Bad Man and the movie is very stylishly shot with a sleek music score backing it. I have been to Liston's grave in Vegas and "Night Train" played in my head the entire time I was there. No monument, just a weathered headstone that you have to ask the folks inside how to find as it is difficult to locate. Watch this with an open mind and enjoy it, sports fans. While it may not be 100 percent accurate - it is fun for fans of The Big Bear. Troy Ross is a real fighter who plays Floyd Patterson but the guy that plays Ali is not. He is the only downside to this movie that I found as they should have gotten a real boxer to play him. Ving is not as big nor nearly as massive as Sonny was but then again, few men have been. One of the Great Hitters and most Mysterious Men in Boxing history.

Oh how the Mighty have Fallen. Not Sonny Liston but Director Robert Townsend. The Once Promising Director who Helmed this Biopic of Heavyweight Champion Liston is Either Out of His Depth or couldn't Pull this Off and it seems like there wasn't much Effort and the Whole Thing Looks Cheap, Undeveloped, and Haphazard. The Low-Budget is No Excuse. Much can be Made for Very Little with some Creativity and Depth of Concern. The Movie is so Muddled and Amateurish at Times that it is Knocked Down In the Opening and Never gets up. The Highlights and Lowlights of the Life of Sonny Liston are Never Explored with Compelling Cinema. It is Flat and Uninteresting and Considering the Enigmatic Liston's Private Life and His Powerful Presence in the Ring it is Mysteriously Boring. The Phantom Punch that Cassius Clay (Ali) Threw in Their Second Fight, one of the most Controversial Knockouts in Boxing History and Ironically the Title of the Film is Hardly Examined, Explored, or for that Matter it is Glossed Over for some Unknown Reason. The Ending of Liston's Life is also Mysterious and the Mystery here is that, again it is so Rushed that it seems a Featherweight is at the Controls. The Film isn't Awful, it is just a Mess. Considering the Material Available it is the Greatest of Concern as to why this Thing Turned Out so Ineffective. it should have been a No Brainer and it turns out to be a Non-Contender.