MovieChat Forums > The Boxer (1998) Discussion > Hugely underrated! - Spoilers

Hugely underrated! - Spoilers

posted 16 years ago by mrmgool
6 replies | jump to latest

I just finished watching 'The Boxer' and I must say I was completely blown away!
This is perhaps one of the most solid movies I've ever seen. Everything was perfectly balanced, the love story, the character study of Danny, the political backdrop, the fantastic boxing scenes, somehow it all meshed together without becoming confusing. Very often these types of detailed movies start off strong but can become quite tedious by the end.

This movie started off great and only got better. I thought the ending was fantastic, It's great to see an uplifting ending to such a harsh and realistic story. It would've been very predictable if they had killed Danny off. It's as if screenwriters feel they can't write happy endings to these types of realistic gritty stories, instead we are left with endless films with predictable endings where the main character dies as it is somehow supposed to reinforce the harsh reality the film was trying to present. A big thumbs up to the film makers for having the guts to let the audience walk away happy.

Every performance in this film was amazing and completely convincing. I dont understand why this movie was recieved only as 'Good but nothing special' by the critics. The fact that it wasn't nominated for best picture next to films like 'The Full Monty' and 'As Good as It Gets' proves how ridiculous the Academy awards really are.

The most underrated and one of the best films I have ever seen.

[–] cotardelusion 16 years ago

Meh, it's okay. The only thing that makes it okay is Daniel Day-Lewis, who is one of the best working actors today.

[–] Raiyne388 16 years ago

I agree - I was really surprised to see the relatively low rating on IMDB. It's a great solid story. LOVE the ending.

~When you came in, the air went out

[–] nutte00 14 years ago

I agree with the OP. I was blown away by this and didn't expect to be due to it having low ratings not being famous etc.

Underrated masterpiece imo!

[–] IceboxMovies 13 years ago

I think it's a masterpiece, and certainly the best movie Sheridan ever made with Day-Lewis.

"What I don't understand is how we're going to stay alive this winter."

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] cherubalways 12 years ago

I agree. It's funny though, I saw it when it first came out and came away feeling disappointed. I watched it again ON Demand last night and it blew me away too. I can't imagine why I felt let down the first time? I remembered it ending badly, but I must have been mistaken. At any rate, I agree with OP. Great pacing, acting and directing.