At less than 24 hours notice, best friends Cesar (Antonio Banderas) and Vince (Woody Harrelson) are invited to fight in a Las Vegas boxing contest where the main bout features Mike Tyson. Grace (Lolita Davidovich), with whom they've both been involved, drives them to Vegas from LA.
For more than an hour, Ron Shelton's film explores the relationship between the three main characters in what is really more of a road movie than a sports movie. The mood is witty and laid-back; Vince is a Jesus freak and Cesar still regrets how much he underestimated his opponent when he had a chance at a title fight. They're both past their prime, and Grace, though she knows neither one is much good as a mate, is genuinely fond of them. The fight, when it comes, is horrific and brutal and Shelton depicts it, and the men who exploit the fighters, unflinchingly.
I was a bit disappointed by the film's conclusion but, since boxing doesn't do a thing for me, I was pleasantly surprised by the film as a whole and, though Tom Sizemore as the boxing promoter is over the top, the three central performances are flawless.
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