Bleed for This

Name: Bleed for This
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Released: November 18, 2016
Duration: 117 min
Rating: 62
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Ciarán Hinds, Katey Sagal, Miles Teller

2016

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Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 53 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 53 Ratings

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Bleed For This

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Movie Details & Credits

Open Road Films (II) | Release Date: November 18, 2016 | R

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Ciarán Hinds, Katey Sagal, Miles Teller

Summary: Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza (Miles Teller), a local Providence boxer, shot to stardom after winning two world title fights. After a near-fatal car accident leaves Vinny with a broken neck, he is told he may never walk again. Against all odds and doctor’s orders, renowned trainer Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart) agrees to help VinnyVinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza (Miles Teller), a local Providence boxer, shot to stardom after winning two world title fights. After a near-fatal car accident leaves Vinny with a broken neck, he is told he may never walk again. Against all odds and doctor’s orders, renowned trainer Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart) agrees to help Vinny return to the ring just a year after the accident for what could be the last fight of his life.… Expand

Director: Ben Younger

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, Sport

Rating: R

Runtime: 117 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Richard Roeper

Nov 17, 2016

Miles Teller gives the performance of his career as the indefatigable Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza, and writer-director Ben Younger delivers one of the best boxing movies of the decade in Bleed for This. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Sep 3, 2016

Teller is terrific, which should come as no surprise to “Whiplash” fans, though no less significant, the film represents a significant return for writer-director Ben Younger. Read full review

Ty Burr

Nov 17, 2016

Teller is cornering a market on recklessness in the roles he chooses -- the energy from that demonic drum solo at the end of “Whiplash” seems to carry over into the ferocity with which Vinny pounds at life. He’s not very smart, he’s kind of a jerk, but he never, ever stops, and Bleed for This earns your respect for him. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Matt Zoller Seitz

Nov 17, 2016

The problem, though, is that we never get enough sense of Paz's interior life to judge this movie as anything other than a comeback story about a nice guy who got knocked out by the cosmos and hauled himself up. Read full review

The Telegraph Tim Robey

Dec 7, 2016

Middleweight, non-intelligence-insulting fare right to the core, Bleed For This keeps you squarely in your seat, but barely once excites you enough to leap up out of it. Read full review

Claudia Puig

Nov 17, 2016

The boxing drama Bleed for This has a powerful story and a strong lead performance in its corner, but falls short of knockout status. Hampered by clichéd writing and stereotypical portrayals, this extraordinary true-life account feels run-of-the-mill. Read full review

Kenji Fujishima

Nov 14, 2016

Any initial gestures toward acknowledging Vinny Paz's macho egotism are eventually downplayed as the film becomes just another formulaic triumph-over-adversity saga. Read full review

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User Reviews

gust999

Nov 19, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Um filme excelente que demonstra a incrível habilidade de atuação do Miles Teler vista primeiramente no filme Whiplash e continua aqui com uma historia surpreendente.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Ralfbergs

Feb 14, 2017

Really enjoyed this movie. Don't know the actual story (only read about it afterwards on wiki), so not sure how good it is portrayed, but it definitely is inspiring one. One of the best movies and even though I am still not sure if I like or don't like Miles Teller as an actor (he does haveReally enjoyed this movie. Don't know the actual story (only read about it afterwards on wiki), so not sure how good it is portrayed, but it definitely is inspiring one. One of the best movies and even though I am still not sure if I like or don't like Miles Teller as an actor (he does have some good movies but in some movies he is just a jackass, so maybe that's why), this one was a really great performance. The movie was both interesting, funny and had it's lessons in it. Plus it is based on real life events and it wasn't your typical boxing movie either.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

KaptenVideo

Jan 10, 2017

Feeling the lack is the first step to greatness. If you’re fine with status quo you may never achieve something bigger. I’m pretty sure I have read something like this somewhere. At least it’s a fitting motto to „Bleed for This“, the sports movie about this real-life young boxing champ whoFeeling the lack is the first step to greatness. If you’re fine with status quo you may never achieve something bigger. I’m pretty sure I have read something like this somewhere. At least it’s a fitting motto to „Bleed for This“, the sports movie about this real-life young boxing champ who broke his neck and still managed to get back in form and claim another world champion belt. More than that, Wikipedia says that he held it for over the next ten years. The guy’s called Vinny Paz and he’s 54 now, by the way.

So yes, it’s another sports movie aiming „to the infinity and beyond“… but it doesn’t go all Hollywood on our asses and actually manages to be a really good indie watch, having both heart and balls.

„Bleed for This“ came out back in September and circled some festivals before reaching cinemas. The commercial success of the movie, sadly, hasn’t been worthy of its tough-as-nails hero. It pretty much came and disappeared without a splash and hasn’t gotten any award nominations either, big or small. Quite why the producers and distributors didn’t believe in the project enough to support it some, for Globes and Academy Awards campaign, at least, is beyond my comprehension. It’s a true underdog story, also a sports movie – who doesn’t like those, eh? – and also good movie in general. (Probably the post-Trumpian USA needs more unpretentious happy tales like „La La Land“ which has just managed to pick 7 out of 7 Globes.)

OK but what makes „Bleed for This“ so great, then? Isn’t there enough underdog and sports movies, award-winning or otherwise? Well, I am glad you asked. In short, I like everything about it! The indie style, the atmosphere and feeling of the early 1990’s working class USA, the great group of starring actors, the hardhitting boxing, the screenplay…

The result is not perfect – what is, anyway? – and one could nitpick about many things if wanted to. For example, the movie runs near two hours which is not exactly a short amount of time… but one does not get a good sense of Vinny Paz’s development as a champion sportsman, or even exactly how the recovery from the big accident went. Of course, it’s all explained in passing, but it doesn’t satisfy to the fullest.

Maybe it’s just me because I enjoyed visiting Vinny’s world, family and environment so much that I left the cinema wanting more. „Bleed for This“ is one of those rather uncommon sports movies that is not afraid to let characters and story breathe and develop enough to lure us in, to make us want really be there for the characters, not just flashy action.

This kind of intimate connection to the movie mostly happens when its makers have strong personal connection with the whole thing too. Seeing that Ben Younger is the director and the sole writer, we can assume it was a personal project and he makes the most out of everybody on screen.

The big name actors here are Miles Teller as Vinny Paz, Ciarán Hinds as his father (somehow I always confuse the guy with Alfred Molina) and Aaron Eckhart as his boxing trainer. All the others have given good performances too, but these three are really worth every penny the producers had to spend on them. Which was probably not too much because the budget was about 6 million US dollars and shooting lasted for only 24 days.

They play it rough and raw, turning the characters into believable working-class heroes. Mark Wahlberg would have probably loved to be part of this experience. There are no showoff scenes so there’s not much to talk about it, only enjoy it. Feel it, live it, breathe it!

I am especially happy about Aaron Eckhart choosing a worthwhile acting role again for a change. For most of the current decade, he has been doing boring commercial crap which is a world away from the works that made him known in the first place. Here he seems to channel a younger less fat version of James Gandolfini which is enough for me to wish him a Supporting Actor Oscar, or at least a nomination. And last but certainly not the least, „Bleed for This“ cements Miles Teller’s position as one of the most promising young American movie actors of his generation. You almost remember him from big studio projects „Divergent“ + „Insurgent“ and 2015’s „Fantastic Four“ but he has also starred in a row of cool indie-er movies such as „The Spectacular Now“ and „Whiplash“. The former quirky cool guy has transformed himself for the never-surrender-type boxer role but manages to turn what on paper seems like a cartoon character into living breathing human being. He should also get nominated for Oscar.

"Bleed for This" doesn't offer a biggest amount of boxing I have seen in a boxing movie. But I just read from IMDb that Teller was trained by Darrell Foster, who has trained fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard and helped Will Smith become Muhammad Ali for 2001's Ali.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Spangle

Feb 17, 2017

Bleed for This is just as rousing as one would expect with good performances to boot, but it does wind up being far too cliched to be a great boxing film. As it stands, it is an above average one that manages to be uplifting, powerful, and pure example of feel good cinema amidst the sea ofBleed for This is just as rousing as one would expect with good performances to boot, but it does wind up being far too cliched to be a great boxing film. As it stands, it is an above average one that manages to be uplifting, powerful, and pure example of feel good cinema amidst the sea of machismo on display in the film. That said, its cliches and beats are all quite predictable and while director Ben Younger's film tells a true story, it remains entirely predictable and never shocks along the way. It is a largely quite palatable film that for those unconvinced by boxing films as a whole, it will hardly produce any converts. For those that enjoy boxing movies, like myself, it is like a decent slice of pizza from the place near campus that people write off as just "drunk food". It is not drunk food though, it is actually pretty okay, I swear.

Starring Miles Teller as Vinnie "The Pazmanian Devil" Paziena, a rough and tough Italian boxer from Providence, Bleed for This goes to great lengths to show how inspiring and unifying his tale is for his family. After losing three bouts in a row, jumping weight classes, and winning his second title belt, Vinnie is in a serious car accident that breaks his neck. Like every proud man before him, he refuses to give up and defies doctors orders to take it easy by working out and making a boxing comeback. He even goes so far as having the screws from his halo - used to stabilize his neck with the screws driven into the skull - removed without anesthetic. We get it, you are tough. Vinnie Paz definitely would frequent The Salty Spitoon from Spongebob, no doubt about that. The high-level of testosterone on display in this film is matched by the excessive sequences in strip clubs, Vinnie's various gorgeous girlfriends (Christine Evangelista mainly), and the shots of the ring girls during boxing matches. The fights ultimately wind up following a sequence of boxing -> bleeding -> boxing -> babe -> pep talk and repeat. That said, the fights still pack all the required tension and cathartic release once the bout is over. In this, the climax reaches a really fever pitch and, though you know the result, it still makes your heart sing with joy.

What does truly benefit Bleed for This is the focus on Paz's family. His father (Ciaran Hinds) is at every match, his mother (Katey Sagal) prays in a very Catholic fashion and refuses to watch, and his sisters and their husbands gather around the television to root him on. Cutting from shots of the fight to the Pazeina household, Younger finds incredibly power in this family unity and gives the film incredible heart. Though Paz's story alone supplies a lot of heart, few boxing movies integrate the family as much as this one, turning Bleed for This into a film that shows the impact a career in boxing has on the family as a whole.

Compared to recent boxing movies such as Creed, however, Bleed for This is hardly as impressive. The boxing scenes are shot pretty typically and the film lacks the feeling of being a spectacle. Rather, it is as if just goes through checking off boxes on the boxing biopic cliche list. Fortunately, the cliches work incredibly well and the film is quite powerful due to its real life story, but it just never feels innovative or compelling for non-athletic reasons. Even films like 2015's Southpaw add in some further depth to its largely straight forward boxing tale with some innovative trauma. Bleed for This, though incredible in real life, feels like every underdog or comeback story about a man told he can never come back. In essence, what I am trying to say, is the film feels like Million Dollar Baby if Hilary Swank boxed again. This is not bad and it is the true story, but it just feels so safe and typical as a result of this.

With strong acting and an uplifting true story, Bleed for This is a film loaded with testosterone and heart, but it follows the tried and true boxing cliches far too closely to be anything more than just another boxing movie about an underdog defeating the incredible odds before him.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

CoreGamer1408

Jun 4, 2019

The supporting actors who played the father and trainer really pulled me out of the scenes all the time with those ropey fake accents. The main star character was just some down to earth guy who didn't seem to be going nowhere in life beyond his boxing career. The guy seemed to not want toThe supporting actors who played the father and trainer really pulled me out of the scenes all the time with those ropey fake accents. The main star character was just some down to earth guy who didn't seem to be going nowhere in life beyond his boxing career. The guy seemed to not want to give up, because it came across that boxing was all he had to live for. This seemed more of a depressing fatalistic story than an uplifting spirited one. Without boxing I got the impression his life would be over. As for the actual boxing scenes well the Grudge Match about two pensioners had more interesting fight scenes, oh well. Interesting yes, but entertaining no.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TVJerry

Nov 24, 2016

As implausible as it seems, this is based on the true story of an extremely spunky boxer (Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza) who won 2 world title fights, only to end up in a devastating car accident with a broken neck. More amazing is his gritty struggle to return to the ring. MilesAs implausible as it seems, this is based on the true story of an extremely spunky boxer (Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza) who won 2 world title fights, only to end up in a devastating car accident with a broken neck. More amazing is his gritty struggle to return to the ring. Miles Teller continues his canon of impressive performances with this amped up portrayal and Aaron Eckhart plays against his leading man type as his sweet but crusty trainer. Director Ben Younger has effectively captured the Italian family (albeit stereotypical), but he brings little else to the genre. The fights are unexciting and unoriginal and the storytelling lacks grit or dramatic power. Despite the potential of the story, it's a rather bland achievement.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

imthenoob

Feb 15, 2017

Vinny Paz has a comeback that is too good to be true. It comes off as an act of fiction but this is real life. No denying his true heart and spirit to not only come back after a crippling accident but to win the world title too. He's the definition of underdog and a true champion.

For theVinny Paz has a comeback that is too good to be true. It comes off as an act of fiction but this is real life. No denying his true heart and spirit to not only come back after a crippling accident but to win the world title too. He's the definition of underdog and a true champion.

For the movie itself, It comes off as such a typical boxing film including things like a stereotypical Italian family and people either going behind your back to make deals or are actively rooting against you by telling you you have no chance. Teller gives us a fantastic performance and so does Eckhart, who breaks the type-cast he's been in as of late and plays someone out of the box for him. Outside of that, It's not even worth renting imo.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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