Grudge Match

Rocky versus Jake LaMotta

The pitch fits on a poster: Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa for thirty years, against Robert De Niro, who won the best actor Oscar as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. The two had worked together on Cop Land (1997), but never in a ring. Peter Segal, best known for comedies, plays with both legacies, and nods to Rocky and Raging Bull run through the film. Kevin Hart plays the promoter, Alan Arkin Razor's old trainer, with Kim Basinger and Jon Bernthal also in the cast.

Veterans' boxing

Stallone and De Niro trained with boxing coach Bob Sale, and Stallone got down to 168 pounds, his lowest weight since 1981. The film doesn't aim for the realism of Creed: it shows two boxers past 60 who need their wind back before their punches. Practitioners will still recognise bag work and skipping, and the role of the corner between rounds. Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Michael Buffer, Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, Roy Jones Jr. and Chael Sonnen appear as themselves. Most of it was shot in New Orleans, with establishing shots of Pittsburgh and the Edgar Thomson Steel Works.

Reception

Released in the US on 25 December 2013, it disappointed: about $45 million worldwide on a $40 million budget, 31% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Razzie nomination for Stallone as worst actor.