I finally watched Creed, which means I
had to put together my list of the best boxing films of all time. This isn't easy, since boxing is the sport
with the second best collection of movies, after baseball of course. I have not seen Raging Bull nor On the
Waterfront, so I can't rank them. I
tried to watch Ali once, but was too bored to finish it.
Rocky
The
undisputed champ, a fantastic movie that set the bar extremely high.
The Fighter
It
borrowed from the Rocky formula, except it's a true story. One of the best ensemble casts in a sports
movie.
Cinderella Man
Another
movie based on a true story, another great cast, it does a good job of looking
at one of the toughest eras in US history.
Rocky II
Rocky
gets his revenge, a stellar sequel.
Snatch
Is
this a boxing movie? It was ranked on
one list, so I included it. Only this
low because boxing is not the focus.
The Quiet Man
Again,
boxing is not really a focus, but still one of the best fights in cinema
history.
Creed
A
tough call between this and the next, I gave this the nod because of the
Everton link.
Rocky Balboa
A
very good movie which breathed life into one of the best franchises in movies.
Rocky IV
I
love this movie more than it is good, because "if you can change, and I
can change, then everyone can change."
The movie that won the Cold War.
Rocky III
Mr.
T is a great 80s villain, this movie sometimes gets lost between the greatness
of the first two and the importance of the fourth, it's a solid contribution to
the franchise.
Real Steel
Watched
it on a lark, and it was surprisingly better than I expected.
Million Dollar Baby
People
love this movie (look at all the awards) but I hated it, probably because it
supports assisted suicide (spoiler). I
also was not a big fan of Hilary Swank, I could never really get behind any of
the characters.
Rocky V
The
movie we prefer to believe never happened, of the many times I've watched the
franchise, I've never seen this a second time.
