Shadowboxer

Shadowboxer
2005
Directed by Lee Daniels



SYNOPSIS
A hitman named Rose (Helen Mirren) and her stepson/lover/fellow hitman (Cuba Gooding Jr.) are hired by a nasty gangster (Stephen Dorff) to kill his pregnant wife (Vanessa Ferlito.) Rose, who has terminal cancer, decides against killing the woman after she goes into labor. The two rescue the wife and her newborn son and they settle into being a stable family.



MY THOUGHTS

Big messes can sometimes make for entertaining and unintentionally funny films, Shadowboxer just missed the mark, and is dull in every respect.

The script is weak. There's not one character who's the least bit interesting or believable, and the film is light on plot and substance, so it's forced to shock the viewer with sex, extreme violence and Cuba Gooding Jr.'s ass.

Hellen Mirren is great as usual, but one solid performance can not save the film. Even though her character is dying and she spares a mother and her baby, she's still not sympathetic. When she meets her end, you are left feeling absolutely nothing.
Cuba Gooding Jr. is utterly boring. His character is a professional killer with an abusive past, so it's logical that he's not emotive. He doesn't speak much and when he does, he says nothing of interest. You never develop any attachment.
Vanessa Ferlito is equally bland. You almost hope Gooding gets bored and bumps her off early in the film.
Stephen Dorff's character is absurdly evil and it's never explained why, and he plays it so over the top and is never believable.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who's great in everything in my opinion, doesn't have much to do here.
The less said about Macy Gray and Mo'Nique the better.

The film is beautifully shot, with great use of exterior locations and colors, but like Vanessa Ferlito's character, beauty with no substance equals blah.

I only recommend Shadowboxer if you want a dvd to use as a punching bag.

for punching purposes only: