Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone played arguably the two most iconic boxers in the film history. The former won the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's 1980 classic Raging Bull, while the latter was nominated for both Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay making Rocky back in 1976 (not to mention all of the subsequent sequels). Only now, however, are the two stars ready to step into the ring together, as seen in the newly released trailer for Grudge Match.
Directed by Peter Segal and based on a script by Tim Kelleher, Doug Ellin and Rodney Rothman, the film tells the story of Henry 'Razor' Sharp (Stallone) and Billy 'The Kid' McDonnen (De Niro), two pugilists who struck up a prime rivalry back in the heyday of their careers. This relationship is brought back when both of the boxers are hired to take part in a long awaited rematch that will determine who is the real champion between them. The all-star supporting cast includes The Walking Dead's Jon Bernthal as De Niro's son B.J., Kim Bainger, Kevin Hart, and Alan Arkin.
Obviously it's not just the characters that Stallone and De Niro are playing that are considered a bit past their prime. While Stallone has somewhat re-energized his career with the Expendables movies, his last solo effort, Bullet To The Head, was a big flop. De Niro, meanwhile, used to be considered one of the greatest actors of all time, but has spent an unfortunate amount of time making titles like Killer Elite and New Year's Eve. I would say that this movie could possibly help bring both of them back, but then I saw the two adult men fighting in motion capture suits.
In addition to the stars, the director is a pretty big question mark too. While Segal does have 1995's Chris Farley classic Tommy Boy on his resume, it's also polluted by titles like Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and Adam Sandler's remake of The Longest Yard. He also hasn't helmed a feature film since 2008's Get Smart, which actually ended up being rather successful. Since then his only credit has been the pilot of the Mike O'Malley show Prodigy Bully, which ended up going nowhere.
In addition to the trailer, The Playlist has gotten its hands on a new image from the film, which you can see below. It's obviously from very late in the movie, but it has both stars wearing funny get-ups, so what the hell...
Grudge Match will be in theaters on Christmas Day.
