What is 1992’s Gladiator?
Before there was Russell Crowe’s historical epic, there was the underground boxing movie.
I remember seeing the TV spots and ads for Gladiator back in 1992. Firstly, they really capitalized on Cuba Gooding Jr.’s newfound stardom as he recently broke out in John Singleton’s debut film Boyz N the Hood. The marketing put him kind of front and center in the ads along with the film’s true lead, James Marshall. Secondly, just based on the images shown in the commercials, I thought this was a period boxing movie — taking place in the 1950s or something. The movie looked stripped-down and old-fashioned, not truly giving off any modern vibes except the soundtrack (which was equally advertised in the marketing). When I finally saw it, I was surprised to see that it took place in modern-day 1992.
So, Gladiator is a film from the director of Roadhouse, Rowdy Herrington, and is co-written by the scribe of The Karate Kid (and frequent Luc Besson collaborator), Robert Mark Kamen. The film’s story even has the skeleton of a Karate Kid rip-off. It’s about the new kid at high school, who encounters bullies, meets a girl and is forced to compete in a fighting circuit. The twist is that this new kid is already quite a fighter. He gets harassed by bookies that his father is in debt to and takes an opportunity to box in an underground league to earn the money. James Marshall, known for Twin Peaks and A Few Good Men, makes his lead debut here as the new kid, Tommy Riley. He even gets an “and introducing” credit in the trailer.
Tommy becomes a new favorite in the underground circuit, which is run by the gangster-like figure Jimmy Horn, played by Brian Dennehy. Horn can make a lot of money off Tommy, so he blackmails him to continue fighting against his will. Tommy, then, befriends one of the other fighters played by Cuba Gooding Jr. This character sports the amazing name of Abraham Lincoln Haines.
What makes it a fun hidden gem?
There’s nothing too special about the plot or the characters, so what’s the film’s hook? Watching the film now, it’s a great snapshot of a random time in the 90s. The soundtrack especially sets the mood with songs by artists like Seal, 3rd Bass, PM Dawn and Warrant. The music becomes the wallpaper that helps take you back to a simpler era.
The underground boxing world is also interesting to see as it’s very loose with the rules and dirty fighting is allowed. The circuit is described in the film as “human cock fighting.” It’s not specifically to the death, but fighters have a fair chance of receiving life-threatening injuries. Brian Dennehy also plays a lover of classic fighters who emphasized strategy over blunt brute force. Horn likes to train his boxers personally, and while Dennehy can be a pretty imposing figure, his age and physical prowess hold him back, so he enforces the use of strategy to win a fight instead of strength. Inversely, Ossie Davis, who plays a weathered trainer in the film, also throws around some of his Miyagi-like fight philosophy.
The fights themselves are also fun. However, if you’re looking for anything pure to the sport of boxing, this is not the film for you. If you love the fist-flying carnage of Rocky III and Rocky IV, then you’re in for a treat as the matches go for over-the-top action, especially when it gets no-holds-barred and the fighting becomes dirty.
Where can you find it?
Sometimes you can find Gladiator streaming on various services. As of now, a quick search shows that it’s only streaming for free on The Roku Channel and you’d have to rent it on Prime Video or Apple TV. So, if this sounds like something you’re interested in or you’d want to revisit, check it out.
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