ShangLuda Admirable film.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

zacharygiefer If you want to watch a movie with fighting, DO NOT WATCH THIS. Ended abruptly and horribly and I cannot believe it was allowed to be a movie. Very bad. On the other hand, if you want to watch a story with NO fighting and maybe be a little sad, because of the story yes but also because this movie was horrible enough to make a grown man cry out of mere regret that he wasted his time watching it, this IS the movie for you! No fighting, like I said. I saw this movie rated as pretty good on a site that rates boxing and fighting movies and I was at first going to say I can't believe it got a decent score, which i still am going to say that but now I realize it should not of even been on that sight because i would under no circumstances classify a movie that has no fighting in it as a fighting or boxing movie. Very very disappointed. Watch Cinderella man instead.

cwilson-46 To be honest, I came in at the middle of this film. but the part I didn't come into was pretty good.I really have to see the entire film to really give an honest opinion.There are so many different reviews on this site - it's just crazy.Tommy seemed to me to be jealous of the old man working with other boxers, so I don't know.I really need to see the beginning of this film to truly understand the core of their relationship.I did, however, feel that Tommy did love this man who was his trainer, but in today's world - of course - this type of love is taboo, which is really stupid.

tgrills This is a superlative movie and I'll try to put any spoilage at the end. There are multiple themes interwoven in the script. The first and most important theme is that of redemption and of course the second chance. Eddie Jones is the trainer who is an educator, and to some extent, a rescuer of damaged souls. One of the surprises is that he needs rescuing himself. While set in a framework of a traditional fight movie, it does have something extra. If you haven't yet had the privilege of seeing this flick, stop reading here. I would say any spoiler begins here: I don't generally go in for the gay experience in movies as it doesn't interest me as a dramatic theme or personally. Just a matter of personal taste. I don't give a damn about orientation except as it relates to fairness and decency to other people. It does here. There is a strong theme of love and trust here with the gay's place in a "manly" sport. It is this tension that provides so much drama and is so important to us all when we consider how we treat each other.Jones' character has an almost Christlike ability to repair another's broken spirit and it is his hubris (for the purpose of the drama) that his orientation has interfered with both his career as boxer and trainer, as well as his own sense of worth. His self-sacrifice for his protégé elevates this drama and gives it much of its specialness.The theme of love and self-worth are masterfully handled here. The secondary theme that love transcends orientation - that it should not matter - is illustrated well here. One's human obligations trump one's personal tastes somehow. I loved the trainer's sense of caring and him personally, and it is one of the triumphs of this flick that Tommy Riley does too, in his own hetero way. More importantly, trust, character, and humane values are validated here as well.I was also intrigued by the art and techniques of using facial aspect to show different stages and struggles in character development. The ways the director and cinematographer use the visual effects of contrast in facial definition are notable. From the somewhat maniacal face of lust and personal struggle in the face of the trainer at one point, to the final difference we see in Tommy's face itself at the end: more mature, seasoned, and somehow stronger for the sense of love, loss, and yet redemption, seen in his visage. A most striking way of making one's point. I give this film both my thumbs up.

rube2424 In theme and execution, Fighting Tommy Riley owes less to Rocky and more to Gods and Monsters. I know that there are many thematic differences between the two films, but there are enough similarities to call attention to them. In Riley, written by and starring J.P.Davis, once again an aging homosexual takes a straight, young uneducated hunk under his wing. Here, as in Monsters, the younger man is at first repulsed by his mentor's sexual predilections and then, through frustration, confusion and a feeling of responsibility, offers himself to the older man. Riley, a well meaning, if predictable film, even ends as Monsters does with the older man committing suicide and the younger man finding his way back to his girlfriend. One main difference between the two films is that Gods works on every level from start to finish, while Riley,though laced through with some touching moments and some good dialog, spends too much of its time revisiting the same boxing clichés we have seen forever.I would like to see more from J.P. Davis as a writer as there is certainly promise there. Fighting Tommy Riley is far from a bad movie. It's just not good enough to be able to recommend with no reservations.