The Phantom Punch

I wrote in my intro post that I would write/review even films I didn’t finish. Of course I can’t write a full review, but I can write about what I did watch and why I stopped.
This is my first such piece, so join me for a brief time on an unfinished journey called The Phantom Punch, directed by Robert Townsend and starring Ving Rhames as Sonny Liston.

The Phantom Punch is supposed to be the story of Sonny Liston’s life. If someone’s life can be told via note cards. Instead of a coherent film that tells a story, The Phantom Punch is more like a series of unrelated vignettes, or a ‘80s style 90-second montage dragged out to 90 minutes.

There are three major issues with The Phantom Punch. The first is the above mentioned incoherently. The second is Ving Rhames himself. He is a great choice to play an older Liston, but a 20-year old Liston? A fifty year old Rhames plays Liston at 20, 40 and beyond. This means Liston never ages over the course of his life in the film. Just Bad.

The third issue is this, Liston seems like an afterthought in a movie that is supposed to be about his life. If a movie about Sonny Liston’s life seems uninterested about Sonny Liston, how can a viewer be interested? I doubt that changed in the second half of the movie I didn’t watch.

The Wikipedia entry for Sonny Liston is more engrossing.

The Final View: Give this movie a pass, read Wikipedia instead.

Rating: Incomplete.