Phantom Punch Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Phantom Punch Blu-ray Movie Review

I'm sure there's a wonderful story to be told, but this production doesn't do it justice.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner April 15, 2010

Among the boxing greats, Sonny Liston is remembered as a force to be reckoned with. With his burly physique, lengthy reach (84 inches), and mammoth 15 inch hands, Liston went on to beat some of the best fighters of his time, and held the title of heavyweight champion of the world until his loss to Muhammad Ali. The film Phantom Punch is a biopic of Liston’s boxing career, which remains riddled with controversy and speculation over his involvement with underground gambling, the mafia, and other women. Directed by Robert Townsend (who many viewers might recognize as the star of the 1993 film The Meteor Man), and written by Ryan Combs, the film attempts to cast new light on the life of Sonny Liston, and provide viewers with a fictionalized glimpse of the circumstances surrounding his untimely death.

Not exactly the face of a teenager.

The film picks up in 1950, during Sonny Liston’s (Ving Rhames) eight year prison sentence for robbery. During his first few days on work detail inside the prison, he’s spotted by the on-site chaplain (Rick Roberts), who observes the bulky young man deck one of the best prison fighters. Encouraged to join the inmate boxing team, Liston quickly develops a friendship with the priest, and eventually earns a parole two years later. Once released, he passes through a brief amateur career, and eventually signs a deal with a young hot-shot manager (Nicholas Turturro) with ties to organized crime. Around the same time, Liston falls in love with a young woman named Geraldine (Stacey Dash), who seemingly tames his reckless side. In the years that follow, Liston proves to be an unstoppable force in the ring, beating the likes of Mike DeJohn, Cleveland Williams, Nino Valdez, and Zora Folley. Given his success, he eventually earns an inevitable shot at the title of world heavyweight champion in 1962, against the reigning champion Floyd Patterson. Unfortunately, what would seem to be a rewarding victory soon became tarnished by Liston’s involvement with a mafia boss, an affair with the girlfriend of his boxing manager, and two questionable losses to Muhammad Ali (leading to mounting speculation over his willingness to throw a fight). To make matters worse, Liston was an ongoing target of racist law enforcement officers who despised his success as a fighter. So much for limiting the conflict to the ring…

In the interest of full disclosure regarding the film Phantom Punch, I should mention we’re dealing with a substantial amount of gray area that the filmmakers take liberty in exposing. I’m not a boxing historian, so I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject of Liston’s life, but I don’t believe anyone ever admitted to Liston using a substance on his glove to temporarily blind Ali. Likewise, I don’t recall any conclusive evidence regarding whether or not he was truly involved in throwing fights for an underground mafia organization. As with any fictional retelling of a real-life story, there’s bound to be speculation on events that lack hard evidence, but I found several of the stretched boundaries in the film a little sensationalistic.

If the Liston portrayed in the film is an accurate reflection of the true man, then he was a deeply flawed man with a noble spirit. This is acceptable to a certain degree, but it eventually began to feel as if Townsend and Combs are desperately trying to spin negatives into positives. For instance, we’re led to believe Sonny falls deeply in love with his beautiful wife, but eventually falls for the ex-prostitute girlfriend of his boxing manager as a matter of pity. As such, he’s portrayed as a reluctant participant in a relationship that threatens to destroy his relationship with his wife and best friend. Then, when the girlfriend has a slip of the tongue that Liston interprets as racially motivated, he winds up engaging in an awkward rape scenario. Prior to that odd element in the film, we have multiple scenes where Liston’s harassed by racist police officers, and eventually loses his cool after substantial verbal abuse. The first time this happened it seemed like a valid element within the plot. However, the inclusion of three or four scenes with same set-up feels unnecessary and tedious to the overall story arch. Most of us know racism was a problem back in the 1950’s, but is it really necessary to center the story of a great boxer around such a singular concept?

Beyond the questionable legitimacy of the biopic, I was a bit disappointed in the overall pacing of the film. First off, for a film focused on the life of a boxing champion, there’s very little focus on the actual fighting in his career. Perhaps Robert Townsend didn’t feel the boxing aspect would be as marketable as other elements, but I’d imagine most viewers will walk away feeling a little cheated by the glossed over depiction of his career. Second, why start the film when Sonny is already in prison, and why not present an in-depth look at his childhood (especially since “boxing” is merely a passing thought throughout the rest of the film)? We’re given one brief flashback of a beating Liston sustained at the hands of his abusive father, but that doesn’t shed much light on the circumstances that led to his incarceration. Third, the format in which the story is told lacks cohesion as we progress through the timeline of his career. We have no idea how many years pass between events in the film, and it doesn’t help that Ving Rhames is tasked with playing a character between the age of 18 and 38. Rhames certainly looks decent for a 49-year-old actor, but he definitely doesn’t fit the role of a teenager. Further disrupting the pacing of the film, Townsend uses an obscene number of slow-motion transition shots, as if he’s forecasting the beginning of every new scene. All of these seemingly minor problems aren’t significant enough to ruin the overall experience individually, but when you place them together as a collective whole, you being to realize just how flawed the production really is. I went into the film anticipating a well-constructed view of Sonny Liston’s boxing career, and left feeling a profound sense of disappointment.

Phantom Punch Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 25Mbps), Phantom Punch flounders in the transition to high-definition. The main culprit behind my lack of enthusiasm is the liberal application of DNR, which scrubs all grain from the surface of the picture and results in a loss of facial textures. We still witness certain elements within the image that appear well-defined, but if you possess an inherent sensitivity to noise reduction, the distracting "wax-museum" look will likely overshadow any residual strengths in the transfer. Aside from the marginal level of detail on display, the image also suffers from inconsistencies in black level depth and shade differentiation, which left shadow detail noticeably absent from time to time. For instance, most viewers will notice several scenes where shadows should appear in the ripples of a suit or dark jacket, yet the entire block of color within the character outline remains one solid shade of black. Thankfully, all is not lost with the replication of this transfer, since the color scheme generates naturalistic tones that are only slightly modified by the stylistic choices of the vintage look (which manifest in a subtle push toward yellow).

In the end, the transfer fails to generate the "wow" factor often found in a high-definition upgrade, but still bests the abilities of a standard definition offering. If you must own the title, this is the version to seek out.

Phantom Punch Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Through the first few minutes of the film, I was bewildered by the muted nature of the lossless offering. I suspect part of the problem is related to the low-volume presentation on the disc, but even after adjusting my receiver several notches higher, I still noticed a certain understated quality to the overall mix. As you'd suspect, the most impressive scenes throughout the duration of the film are the actual fights themselves, which incorporate environmental elements such as the cheering crowd and a ringside announcer. During these brief moments, the surround spectrum within your home theater will come alive with excellent separation, and provide the impression you're truly sitting in the stands watching Liston square off against Ali. Sadly, those sequences only encompass a small portion of the full run-time, leaving the rest of the film stuck in the usual trappings of a low-budget, front-heavy mix. Considering the predominance of dramatic elements throughout the story, the lack of surround separation shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a deal-breaker, but it still seemed a little odd to watch a boxing biopic with an audio track this subdued. If you're expecting a bombastic sports-themed production, you'll need to set your sights elsewhere.

Phantom Punch Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are zero supplements included on the disc.

Phantom Punch Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I shouldn't let my disappointment with Phantom Punch overshadow the marginally entertaining aspects of the production. Could the film have been better in the hands of a more capable writing/directing team? Yes. Does it mean the film is a complete waste of time? No. In the end, I'd only recommend Phantom Punch to viewers looking for a healthy dose of drama, and little historical accuracy. Since I doubt many viewers will pick this up unless they have an interest in boxing, there's a very small segment of the potential target market that might enjoy a film of this nature. Therefore, I'd strongly recommend an initial rental to determine whether or not you find enough value to warrant a purchase.