Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

zkonedog When I first heard of the concept for this film, I thought that the whole "Rocky vs. Raging Bull" angle was interesting. When I saw the trailer for it, I thought that it looked like a comedy with a healthy dose of heart. When I saw the movie itself...I realized it was an "idea" picture surrounded by filler.For a basic plot summary, "Grudge Match" tells the two of two rival boxers who each beat the other one time, setting up what was to be a hugely popular "rubber match". Before the fight could take place, however, Henry "Razor" Sharp (Sylvester Stallone) walked away from the sport, leaving Billy "The Kid" McDonnen (Robert De Niro) to stew over what could have been. Thirty years later, both fighters meet up again at a motion-capture exercise for a new video game coming out. They still have as much vitriol and hatred for each other as before, and thus the rivalry is rekindled. When the prospect of a huge $$$ purse is dangled before their eyes, they agree to step in the ring one final time to settle the score once and for all.The trouble with this movie is two-fold:First, Stallone has never achieved any comedic success (besides perhaps "Avenging Angelo", but that wasn't supposed to even BE a comedy)...period! When it comes to the comedy of this film, De Niro runs circles around Stallone. Since they both share about equal screen time, the Sly comedy scenes get a bit tough to stomach. Plus, as usual, Kevin Hart's brand of comedy is very much an acquired taste (one that this reviewer hasn't come around to).Secondly, even the best of comedy movies have to contain some heart or "meat" behind them, and "Grudge Match" fails miserably in that department. The backstory involving Kim Basinger's character just isn't interesting enough to make you care about what should be the emotional punch of the movie.Granted, there are some positives to this film (hence the 2 stars instead of just a single). Some jokes (especially for those intimately familiar with Stallone and De Niro's past works) are laugh- out-loud funny, while the end fight scene is probably the best part of the entire movie (where Stallone really gets to shine).However, it is quite clear that the "Rocky vs Raging Bull" concept is what fueled this movie, and that just wasn't enough to carry a two-hour film. "Grudge Match" isn't terrible, but I have absolutely no desire to watch it again, either.

juneebuggy I was hesitant to watch this and (I'm sure like most others) went in with very low expectations but Grudge Match surprised me with constant laughs, a story with heart and was ultimately way better than I thought it was going to be.Stallone and DeNiro do a great job as a pair of aging boxing rivals coaxed out of retirement to fight one final bout 30 years after their last match. I actually enjoyed DeNiro here which I haven't been able to say about him for ages what with his crappy comedy choices of late and Stallone is excellent even if his character is just another less mumbling version of Rocky, hard to differentiate the two there.What really held this together was Kevin Hart and Alan Arkin, those two are absolutely fantastic. Jon Bernthal and his son balance the mix out nicely and I even enjoyed the Kim Basinger rekindled romance arc.Surprisingly the part I liked the least was the actual fight which just kept reminding me of Rocky Balboa. There are also some very weird waxy CGI flashbacks showing the boxers in their prime, back in the eighties. 3/2/16

utgard14 I'm honestly being kind with a score of 5. It's not a movie I can ever see myself watching again, that's for sure. The premise, which no doubt resulted in much back-patting for someone, is that two older actors who starred in classic boxing movies play two old boxers with a score to settle. It's one of those movies where the last moment anybody cared about putting any creative effort into this was when they came up with the concept. After that it was just a matter of phoning it in and collecting a paycheck.The chemistry between Robert DeNiro and Sylvester Stallone is decent and results in a few amusing lines back and forth before the novelty of that wears off. Their appeal is what carries the film. If you're not a fan of either actor, you may as well skip this. The romantic chemistry between Stallone and Kim Basinger is nonexistent. Kevin Hart is funny for a second or two until you realize he's only bringing that same old tired shtick of his to the table - every other sentence is 'white this' or 'black that.' Yawn. The little kid playing DeNiro's grandson is annoyingly precocious so prepare yourself for that. On the plus side, Alan Arkin easily steals every scene he's in and Jon Bernthal is ideal casting as DeNiro's son.The movie meanders a great deal and is pretty predictable throughout. Some emotional scenes in this don't register well because you will find yourself disliking so many of the characters. There are also some glaring plot holes such as how Sly's character was medically cleared to fight when he's blind in one eye. The movie even jokes early on about the old guys passing medical exams, but when an actual medical issue figures into the plot nothing is ever said about how he ever passed the physical exam in the first place! Also, how terrible was the use of CGI in this? The early scenes showing footage of the two men fighting in their prime was so fake it was disturbing. Then, with the Dancing with the Stars joke at the end, DeNiro's face was clearly CGI'd onto someone else's body. Just creepy. Anyway, it's not a good movie but it is watchable if you are a fan of the stars. It's never as much fun as you hope it will be but it has moments here and there.

g-bodyl After many years of wishful thinking, we finally get to see the ultimate showdown of Rocky versus Jake LaMotta....to a degree. Obviously, the characters in Grudge Match are not the same characters listed above, but they are played by the same actors, thirty plus years later. The film itself is actually a very good film....if you can take older men with no shirts. But the film is an excellent drama and is a lot funnier that I thought it would be. There were some great, though somewhat cheesy lines of dialog. I like how the film is not just about boxing, but about the characters. In fact, the actual boxing scenes are relegated to only like twenty minutes, if that. Peter Segal's film is about two Pittsburgh boxers: Henry Sharp and Billy McDonnen who are the worst of boxing enemies. Sharp decides to retire early after being defeated by McDonnen. Thirty years later, fate comes a-calling when a promoter named Dante Slate Jr. offers each of them a good deal to bring one last fight to the table: to fight a grudge match.I thought the film had fine acting. Robert De Niro is a very talented actor and it was nice to see him back in the ring, 33 years after Raging Bull. Sylvester Stallone managed to do a good job bringing back his inner Rocky. Kevin Hart added a funny presence as the promoter, Dante Jr. Alan Arkin added lots of humor, admittedly most about old-age, to his elegant performance. Kim Basinger was very good as Sly's former lover and Jon Bernthal as De Niro's long-lost son. Overall, Grudge Match is actually a quite humorous and moving film that managed to stay entertaining. It doesn't reach the scale of Raging Bull and Rocky, but it's not meant to. That does not stop the film from making some excellent inside references to those classics. A very entertaining movie, though I could use an ending that was not so abrupt. I rate this film 9/10.