Synopsis
Diana, without her father knowing it, trains as a boxer and achieves impressive success, blazing new trails for female boxers.
Neptune King of the Sea
I remember randomly watching this film years ago on ITV when i was up too late trawling the TV channels and it captivated me then as it did now forcing me to stay up way too late watching it all the way through. The film like the lead is gritty and kind of charming in equal measure, i honestly think that Rodriguez hasn’t been as compelling since, no wonder she won plaudits for her performance. Fundamentally the film is actually very topical and foreshadows the rise of female boxing that is going on in the sport currently and it portrays a strong female lead without being a cliche. The film strongly reinforces the belief that i have about the sport that its a force of good in the community for people with problems or with limited opportunities, it focuses on the social aspects very strongly. The journey of the lead character is a compelling one and you almost feel that at the end of the process Rodriguez could actually fight as a real amateur such is the quality of her performance and progression of the story. I do think a story is a touch long but on the other hand i also wish they would explore her families rocky past which is only really explored in snippets. But overall its a very enjoyable and different boxing film.
Rating: Girl Fighter II Championship Edition.
Chip
Viewing beverage: Irn Bru
Credit for the female protagonist, though it was standard formulaic sports training movie fair. Some good acting performances and it did feel authentic. I’m torn about Michelle Rodriguez though. I find it draining to watch her being angry for 2 hours, although if I’d seen this one before she’d played the same character another 20 times in the movies that came after, I might have enjoyed it more.
Overall it’s pretty much the Rocky equivalent of “The Next Karate Kid”.
Not a bad movie by any stretch, but I still don’t really like boxing, and I was bored.
5 angry grunts out of 10
Pinbot
I’m wondering if all boxing movies have the same overall theme. The protagonist grows up in the wrong side of town, has a terrible upbringing and overcomes everything to end up stronger. This was pretty much the same, but the female slant was refreshing. Michelle Rodriguez played tough very well (doesn’t she always?) with so much glaring and pouting.
It was an interesting film that was suitably gritty (I get the feeling that word will come up a lot in this round) with some believable characters. I quite enjoyed the trainer Hector, I got the feeling he could even teach me how to throw a few haymakers. It had a couple of plot lines that were quietly forgotten about and it dragged towards its weak conclusion, but overall it was fine. The film’s title is still terrible though.
Zoya the Destroya out of ten.
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