Against the Ropes
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: February 20, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
36
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
19
Negative:
15
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Against the Ropes meanders until it gets to the final third of its running time, and then it catches fire. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
It succeeds in many of the ways a sports movie should, and, by employing a slightly different viewpoint for most of the production, manages a sense of freshness. Read full review
60
The New York TimesDana Stevens
Some of the performances show flashes of idiosyncrasy and flair that are nearly snuffed out by the pedestrian script. Read full review
60
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Despite its problems, the picture still satisfies -- more than a lot of allegedly worthy "A list" movies do. In a movie world where heavyweight often means top-heavy, Against the Ropes shows some pretty fleet footwork. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The script (by Cheryl Edwards, who wrote "Save the Last Dance") is shallow and dumb, the conflict (success goes to Jackie's head) is especially unconvincing, and director Charles S. Dutton shamelessly allows his own small part (as Jackie's mentor) to hog the camera. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
Though the movie is more mediocre than abysmal, Ryan's recently banged-up filmography (remember In the Cut) could use what every fighter needs at ringside: a good cut man to stop the bleeding. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
As a boxing movie, Against the Ropes is perfunctory, with a well-muscled Omar Epps diligently enduring predictable montages showing his rise to fame as Jackie's first protégé. As a biopic, it's likewise uninspired stuff. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
There's not a moment in Against the Ropes where you forget this is perky Meg Ryan up onscreen, talking trashy and acting tough. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The movie is only sporadically interesting. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Mark Peranson
Wobbles like a punch-drunk fighter. It never finds its legs, but allows Ryan -- whose wardrobe looks like Erin Brockovich crossed with Barbarella -- the space to do what she does best: turn on the charm, and make audiences wonder why she's slumming in such a lame storyline. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
By the end, everything that was initially serious about the film becomes silly and everything appealing about it turns sour. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
I'm far from being a fan of the sport, but the boxing sequences held me and the overall atmosphere appears reasonably authentic. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
It's a weird anti-woman message masquerading in a movie about empowerment. And there's nothing inspired about that. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Even by the standards of pop-moral parables passing for entertainment, this is bland stuff. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
If they had to make things up, couldn't they have made up something smarter? Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A shopworn studio contraption, slapped together from second-hand parts.
40
Austin ChronicleMarrit Ingman
Like a lot of sports movies, this biopic about boxing promoter Jackie Kallen is better than it has to be but not as good as it ought to be. Read full review
40
EmpireStaff (Not credited)
Throw in the blatant signposting of every plot turn and mood shift, and what could have been a gripping tale becomes hammy and overdone. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian Lowry
Think of Against the Ropes as a "Rocky" story -- if, that is, the vintage is somewhere between "Rocky IV" and "V," and the action centered around the Burgess Meredith character as played by Meg Ryan wearing "Barbarella" outfits. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
Ryan and the rest of the cast are forced to slug it out with the kind of trite dialogue that seems to have been lifted straight off of those corporate inspirational posters. Read full review
40
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Right up to the ludicrous finale and an even more improbable denouement, everything rings Hollywood-false. More galling still, the filmmakers' inventions take the zing out of the facts. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's a real shame that most new boxing movies try to copy the crowd-pleasing, sentiment-choked tactics of "Rocky" rather than the stark drama of "Raging Bull" or the realistic grit of "On the Waterfront" and "The Harder They Fall." Against the Ropes is only the latest sorry example. The sad thing is that, with this real-life story and subject, it could have been a contender. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Epps emerges mostly unscathed, and Dutton gives an excellent performance; he's as able before the camera as he is inept behind it. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A riotously awful biopic rife with stereotypes and boxing movie cliches, Against the Ropes represents -- among other things -- a woeful turn in its star's career. Read full review
38
New York PostMegan Lehmann
Ryan spends much of the grubby-looking boxing drama Against the Ropes with her face screwed up in distaste, as if a dirty sock is being waved under her nose. Perhaps it's because the movie she's in stinks. Read full review
38
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
A cliché-ridden, condescending and ham-handed film that clumsily fails to bring to life what should be an interesting story. You might say none of its punches even comes close to connecting. Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyScott Brown
For all I know, Ryan's performance could be a dead-on Kallen impression. But what she appears to be doing is an impression of Johnny Depp doing an impression of Keith Richards doing an impression of Liz Taylor. Read full review
30
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
Ryan never quite convinces us she's seen the inside of a fight gym, much less that she's worthy to be Rocky in a miniskirt. On the other hand, her director here was not Campion but actor Charles S. Dutton, whose behind-the-camera skills, developed via cable TV, tend toward the cartoonish. Read full review
30
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
There's not a believable moment in all of it, but for a while the film chugs along on Ryan's innate charisma. Even so, no amount of movie-star twinkle could lighten screenwriter Cheryl Edwards' bizarre character arc, which finds Jackie turning, overnight, into a callous, possibly racist, ninny. Read full review
30
Film ThreatDon R. Lewis
Overall, this is just another boxing movie with few surprises and an awkward message to viewers. Read full review
30
SlateDavid Edelstein
Emminently skippable. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
The film is so anemic you should probably order iron supplements with your popcorn, its plot so predictable it makes falling dominoes seem like a white-knuckle thrill ride. Read full review
30
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
A boilerplate melodrama whose good guys and bad guys are so baldly drawn they could have been conceived by Friz Freleng. Read full review
30
Village VoiceLaura Sinagra
As a gloves-off Erin Brockovich, Ryan never makes it into the ring. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Like the recent "Mona Lisa Smile," this tale could have been an effective feminist fable if it weren't so calculated. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Critics and audiences should unite to KO this loser. Read full review
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