Release Date:
Friday, March 31, 2000
Boxing movies are great: the grizzled manager, the extended training sequences, the blood-spitting, the come-from-behind hero who punches his way to a champion belt and into the arms of his girl. Price of Glory, the new Jimmy Smits sensitive-man-boxing movie, has all these qualities, but it ends up being big on bull, short on raging. A tidy, over-emotional family drama sprinkled with uninspired fight scenes, the film lacks inside-the-ring action and focuses way too much on teary-eyed reconciliations.
Jimmy Smits plays Arturo Ortega, a failed boxer who pours his old dreams of glory into his three sons. Smits coaches, trains, and chews out his boys as they rise through the boxing ranks and eventually Smits ambition consumes the whole family. Smits smolders, grits his teeth, and wells up his eyes with tears at the ring of a bell, but his emoting grows tiresome, and it takes the punch out of a story about the loyalties between fathers and sons. John Seda and Ernesto Hernandez are both exceptionally good as two of the Ortega sons, who fight for their fathers approval, instead of glory. Ron Perleman and Paul Rodriguez both play shady promoters and turn in memorable supporting performances.
Bogged down by cliche plot points, Price of Glory isnt bad; its just devoid of excitement or surprise. It hits its marks with typical big-budget precision: Music swells when our hero is in danger, cameras pan over cheering crowds, and people stare off thoughtfully into the horizon a lot. If you love the boxing genre, check out this film on video.
Jimmy Smits plays Arturo Ortega, a failed boxer who pours his old dreams of glory into his three sons. Smits coaches, trains, and chews out his boys as they rise through the boxing ranks and eventually Smits ambition consumes the whole family. Smits smolders, grits his teeth, and wells up his eyes with tears at the ring of a bell, but his emoting grows tiresome, and it takes the punch out of a story about the loyalties between fathers and sons. John Seda and Ernesto Hernandez are both exceptionally good as two of the Ortega sons, who fight for their fathers approval, instead of glory. Ron Perleman and Paul Rodriguez both play shady promoters and turn in memorable supporting performances.
Bogged down by cliche plot points, Price of Glory isnt bad; its just devoid of excitement or surprise. It hits its marks with typical big-budget precision: Music swells when our hero is in danger, cameras pan over cheering crowds, and people stare off thoughtfully into the horizon a lot. If you love the boxing genre, check out this film on video.