Ava-Grace Willis
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Walter Sloane
Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.
Allissa
.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
John T. Ryan
"Pugilism", "Fisticuffs", the "Sweet Science", "Boxing" or just the plain old "Fights", no matter what we call them, they go on and on, and seem to be thriving now, long after so many pundits had predicted their eradication.Their brute primativity and link to our primordial past surely must have a lot to do with Boxing's seeming longevity and its appeal. It seems that the more sophisticated and "civilized" our World becomes, the more popular the Prize Ring becomes. And now with the influx of $how Bu$ine$$ Mega Buck$ via Broadcast and Cable TV Revenue$, we find there is more money than ever. As someone had observed, "...and there's even some money left-over for the Fighters!" With the growing popularity of the so called "Reality Shows" the coming of a Boxing Series chronicling all the behind the scenes happenings and preparations leading up to a Prize Fight was bound to come along. These guys on Creator Mike Burnett's team did it! They deserve the credit as well as the fruits of their labour.Anyone who has been a Boxer or has been around them or known Boxers know just what an exclusive fraternity that they are. A man may have been retired from the Ring for years and years; and yet, when he observes a fight, he is all eyes for each round. His expertise and instincts dissect each bout, round by round; reporting his observations and suggestions for technique and strategy.* The Mike Burnett Production team knew that as little 'Star Power' can mean a lot to a series. So, they went out and sought to bring some very well known Name Performers on board for the shaping of the series. Ideally, they would have recognition in Movies/TV, the Sporting World as well as to the General Public.The selections of the Multi-time Welterweight & Middleweight Champ, Ray Leonard gave the series a real solid foundation. With his background of accomplishment and youthful, still fit appearance he would be an ideal subject for a Television Host. His pleasing personality, his highly articulate speech all added up to the absolute right man for the right job.As far as the second half of the co-host tandem, the Producer chose everyone's favourite fictional Boxing Champ, Philadelphia's Favourite (Fictional) Son, "The Italian Stallion"-Rocky Balboa (Himself), Sylvester Stallone. Sly, a life-long, super-fanatical devotee of Athletics, Physical Conditioning and Bodybuilding,was a near perfect companion co-host. Together the pair served as a conduit between the audience and the two camps of competing fighters.Meanwhile, we are treated to the selection process, the training and the normally off screen occurrences are captured and chronicled by the all-seeing eye of the camera. We see the winning, the losing, the joy and the heart break experienced by the 'Contenders'. To borrow the most famous motto from "ABC's WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS", ".....the Joy of Victory and the Agony of Defeat!"** As far as a good crossover for those who are both into the Sporting World and Movies/TV, "THE CONTENDER" really nails it. It's our favourite (the 'our' being possessive case of the 'Editorial We'.)series of the 'Reality Type.' Here's hoping that it continues for some time.NOTE: * This writer happened to be working in the Chicago Loop as a Foot Traffic Cop in the mid 1970's. During this Period(1973-78) I had the good fortune to meet and be able to visit with Mr. Leo Rodak, who was a former WORLD'S FEATHERWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPION. Being about the same age as my own Father, I found Leo to be sharp, highly energetic and very fond of telling stories of his Boxing Days and of his experiences in the Army in World War II. But, that's another Story!
Nirav Modi
If you box this the perfect show for you, if you don't box its still a perfect show for you. Mostly males don't get caught into reality TV but me and six of my friends watch it together every week with some chips and soda. This show brings the troubles boxers go through in their life. Their dreams slowly turning into reality. There is nothing missing from this show, you see everything you would expect. You see them evolve,and like real life there is betrayal, deception, hatred, friendship,sportsmanship, love, Heart, "Swagger", etc. The fighting, camera angles, music is very good. No regrets on the trainers, sparring partners? Its a great show for anybody Period.
stuart-463
I, like a lot of people, felt I could not bring myself to watch another reality television programme. I was sick of seeing normal people acting up in front of a camera or even worse minor "celebrities" that are mostly famous for doing nothing fighting for even more exposure as they try to get a career in television. You can imagine my surprise when I saw the first series of the contender. Driven young fighters given a chance of a lifetime to be trained by the best trainers in state of the art facilities. Finally this is what reality TV was meant to be about. Sure there were plenty of ego's on show but at the end of each show it was put up or shut up. And how many times was I wrong about who would be the final one standing (too many times to count). It was never any better than when a boxer would be selected to fight because his opponent thought that he was "out of shape" only to see a "surprise" result. The highlight of the programme is, of course, the fight at the end of each programme where it is a mixture of real time mixed with slow motion sections when big punches are landed. Think fight night meets Rocky. It certainly raised the excitement of watching the programme. Needless to say I am a fan and am happy to say that the second series is looking to be almost as good as the first.
r287
Unlike a lot of reality shows this one is brilliantly made and edited and is very classy, Stallone and Sugar Ray combine to make a truly great piece of entertainment. The show has had to face a lot of adversaries such as the awful copy-cat attempt - the next great champ, also it has been delayed and put in a very difficult time-slot and lets be honest boxing is not what it used to be, what's more one of the contestants even committed suicide a few months after filming for an unknown reason. However the final product is worth everything they have put in and the program is a visual spectacle with the fight at the end of every episode being the highlight. Luckily it doesn't just focus on boxing, even those who don't watch boxing will love it as it is concentrated on the moving stories of the boxers and their families.Great Stuff!
