Yesterday, we had yet another still from the Stallone/De Niro fight comedy Grudge Match. Now we have the first trailer and it’s pretty much what you would expect from two iconic but geriatric fighters.
The film centers on Razor (Stallone) and The Kid (De Niro), who come back together 50 years after their last fight through the machinations of Dante Slate Jr. (Kevin Hart), a fight promoter. Slate initially just wants the pair to do motion capture for a video game, but when a fight breaks out between them he has the brilliant idea to put them in the ring again and promote it as a grudge match.
The trailer is chock full of ‘old men fighting’ jokes that are humorous but likely to wear thin if they go on for too long. Furthermore, a few shots recall scenes from both Rocky and Raging Bull, which is to be expected. Stallone and De Niro are trading on their star personas for all they’re worth.
All of that does not discount Grudge Match, though. The supporting cast, including Alan Arkin and Kim Basinger, is excellent. Stallone and DeNiro look like they’re in pretty good form, comedic and otherwise. While we know that De Niro is capable of poking fun at his previous roles, often with mixed results, we’ve yet to see just how self-aware Stallone can be. This film will probably give us a chance to judge that.
So, for what it’s worth, Grudge Match doesn’t look half bad. It comes courtesy of the same director who brought us Get Smart, which is encouraging in itself. I enjoy both main actors immensely, and I see no reason not to give this one every chance.
You can check out the Grudge Match trailer below and let us know what you think of Stallone vs. De Niro in the comments.
Grudge Match comes to US theatres Christmas Day.
