Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

bdgill12 On a summer night in 1983, two welterweight boxers met at center ring in front of a large Madison Square Garden crowd. The boxers were on different levels, with Billy Collins having been pegged for stardom and Luis Resto considered by most to be a tune-up fighter, though one with a solid reputation. The battle lasted ten rounds before Resto was named the winner. What should have been a career-making victory for Resto turned out to be short lived as almost immediately it was discovered that Resto's gloves had been tampered with. The padding had been removed from the gloves, essentially allowing Resto to pummel Collins with bare knuckles (see the photo below). For Resto, this meant the end of his boxing career, a stint in jail, and a haunted past. The fight was even more harmful for Collins, who never fully recovered from the beating which, combined with his already dark disposition, led him down a rough path toward a tragic death. 25 years later director Eric Drath follows Resto as he attempts to come to grips with the results of the fight.Considering the damage he inflicted on Collins (and his family), Resto is an exceedingly sympathetic figure. A poor immigrant from Puerto Rico, Resto found not only a livelihood but also significance when he showed some talent in the ring. He had a chance to better his life and the lives of his family members and he worked extremely hard to make that happen. He learned early on, however, that you never question the men in your corner and that would ultimately lead to his undoing. He didn't remove the padding from the gloves himself but as he reluctantly admits about halfway through the film, he knew something wasn't right. Resto buried himself under a mountain of guilt not only because of the impact the fight had on Collins but because of the way he had disrespected his sport. His grief is written all over his face. By all accounts, this fight ended two lives with Resto holding on as a shell of a man, estranged from friends and family and unable to find redemption.Drath offers just that, redemption, with a whirl-wind tour to the homes of all those affected by the fight. Resto is given the opportunity to confront his former trainer, Mario Costa, the man ultimately responsible for the customized gloves. While Resto spent two years in prison, Costa was simply stripped of his trainer's license due to a chain of custody issue that resulted in his court case being thrown out. Upon their first on-screen meeting, I was immediately struck by how much power Costa still held over Resto. Here stood the man responsible for Resto's troubles and yet he could not even look him in the eye. When questioned about the events of that night, Costa denies and feigns offense but in later footage he makes it abundantly clear that he would never admit his wrongdoing. It is abundantly clear that while Resto may have known something wasn't right when he stepped into the ring, Costa knew exactly what the game plan was. Drath also sheds a little light on the New York Athletic Commission, leading one to wonder what kind of shady business was conducted behind closed doors and under grimy tables on the way to that night's infamous events. In this sense, Drath allows "Assault" to illustrate what a shady business professional boxing truly is.If Resto's confrontation with Costa is somewhat unsatisfying, his other meetings pick up the slack. He finally confesses his (limited) knowledge of the tampered gloves with his ex-wife and grown sons and you can see the relief wash over him. He weeps quietly when receiving forgiveness from Collins' widow and is even reunited with his mother and sister. It isn't a picture perfect ending, of course. Collins' father refused Resto's apologies and Costa provides no comfort for his former protégé. Still, Drath's simple and understated film finds a poignant groove and stays within in, capturing the essence of a man who has paid for his mistakes a thousand times over without hope of reprieve, almost as much a victim as the man he sparred with on that fateful night.Check out my site: httwww.thesoapboxoffice.blogspot.com

poe426 Luis Resto mans up and admits to having loaded gloves when he fought (and nearly killed) Billy Collins, Jr. It was Collins, Sr., who caught Resto and his accomplice, the dirty "Panama" Lewis, in the act. Although Lewis appears to have gotten away with attempted murder, his underhanded tactics in this fight raise some interesting questions: for years, he trained (or at least assisted in the training of) none other than "Manos de Piedra" ("Hands of Stone") himself, Roberto Duran. More than once, opponents complained that Duran's gloves were loaded. Nothing ever came of any of the charges (at least, not that I know of), but Lewis also worked the corner of Aaron Pryor against Alexis Arguello. Pryor twice gave Arguello a fearsome beating. (I've watched these two fights several times and wondered what Lewis meant when- in a clip that's shown in this documentary- he asks specifically for a water bottle that he had "mixed." Now I know.) Resto comes clean (finally), but Lewis ducks and dodges to this day. The fact that so unsavory a character is still training fighters is all the more reason why a boxing commission of the type espoused by Teddy Atlas is needed. Boxing has YET to step out of The Dark Ages and into the light. Consider the all too recent case of Antonio Margarito: the murderous Margarito seemed to be a fighter on the rise (he "stopped" Kermit Citron and Miguel Cotto) before Shane Mosley's trainer caught Margarito with loaded gloves before their fight. Margarito's hands were re-wrapped... and Mosley knocked him out. Without the plaster cast, Margarito stood exposed (like Resto) for the fraud he was/is. (And Margarito is once again being licensed to fight in this country!) Everyone involved in these fights, from the promoters and matchmakers to the broadcasting companies and the ringside announcers, is responsible to one degree or another for the safety of these fighters. In the words of Roberto Duran himself: "No mas." ("No more.") Boxing's dangerous enough as it is.

g_williams21 Okay, I first saw footage of this very brutal and disturbing ten round assault many years ago. It was part of a documentary about cheating in sport, most of the cheating involved was trivial stuff. A footballer spitting at an opponent,a fencing bout that was rigged. And then came Billy Collins and Luis Resto. This whole story very deeply disturbed me, how an innocent young man can give so much passion and spirit to a sport he loved and then life and boxing can spit in his face. And I refer to Billy Collins NOT POOR OLD LUIS RESTO. Now, when I first heard about this documentary being made I was pleased, I thought somehow old wounds would be healed and the spirit of Billy Collins jr would finally get the respect and honour it deserved. The documentary it has to be said is quite well made, apart from some terrible editing in places,e.g Luis Resto is on his way to Nashville to apologize to Billys family and for reasons known only to him, he is laughing and smiling. Strange. The downside to this film is the blatant way it sides with Luis.Poor old Luis, why is he still being punished? Why can't he box or coach again? Because you disgraced the sport my friend. How could you pound a young mans face until blood streamed down it and he was half blind, knowing you had plaster on your fists and gloves with half the padding removed? STAY AWAY, FAR AWAY FROM ANYTHING TO DO WITH BOXING, GET A JOB AND MOVE ON. The documentary seems to lay the blame of Billys death at his fathers feet, which I found disgusting. Apparently, Billys father should have let him carry on boxing (even though he was half blind) and everything would have been fine. I didn't care for that part at all to be honest. Those parts aside, it has to be said some of this documentary is engrossing, Luis meeting his trainer Panama Lewis again after all these years and demanding the truth. Come on,they all know who tore the stuffing out of those gloves, lets not be stupid here, an experienced boxer knows when padding has been removed from his gloves, he already had plaster wrapped round his knuckles. A very sad story, and I still can't believe Billy never got a penny in compensation for what happened. I am sure he would still be with us if he had. RIP Billy Collins jr

beatles0001 The scene where Resto finally admits guilt is a telling one. And part of the reason I gave it a 6. Along with the first 20 minutes. Just great story telling. The shuffling around the country of Resto was pathetic and Drack making himself the star of the show. Pathetic!! Resto is a sad case but likable in a warped way. Panama Lewis is perhaps the worst person I have ever seen on screen. He is a slim above all others. The worst ever!! Resto's sister is not sympathetic and she has too much, way too much sympathy for Resto. What he did was wrong. He isn't a hero. But at least he makes amends. Panama is so sleazy its scary. He wont accept any guilt or claim he did anything wrong.