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Shadowboxer
Freestyle Releasing LLC


6.4

based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for strong graphic violence and sexuality, nudity, language and some drug use

Starring Helen Mirren, Cuba Gooding Jr., Vanessa Ferlito, Stephen Dorff, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mo'Nique, and Macy Gray

Shadowboxer is an emotionally-charged, full-throttle noir, which delves deep into the harsh underworld of organized crime and uncovers the complex lives of trained assassins, Mikey (Gooding Jr.) and Rose (Mirren). (Teton Films)

GENRE(S):	Crime \| Drama \| Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	William Lipz
DIRECTED BY:	Lee Daniels
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 7, 2006 Theatrical: July 21, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	93 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

LA Weekly Greg Burk

This is a sick flick. Sick, but satisfying. A cartoonish parable in the mode of Cronenberg's "A History of Violence."

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Despite the edifying square-up -- moral lessons about family, the legacy of violence and the tenacious power of love -- the appeal is freak-show all the way.

Variety Robert Koehler

Admirably jostles and upends the fatigued killer-for-hire genre.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

A gaudy thriller saturated in sex and violence, is an extravagance that leaves you with your mouth hanging open - partly in admiration of its audacity and partly in disbelief at its preposterousness.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Despite the tenderness between them, Rose and her perfect younger man have the sickest mother-son relationship since Angela Lansbury and Laurence Harvey in "The Manchurian Candidate" - and Mikey seems just as brainwashed.

Philadelphia Inquirer David Hiltbrand

A strident and shocking jumble, Shadowboxer suggests what you might come up with if you decided to inject John Huston's dark 1985 film, "Prizzi's Honor," with Oedipal overtones.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

In this lukewarm climate of pointless remakes and uninspired sequels there's always welcome room for a film that wants to push the envelope, Shadowboxer merely crams it with a lot of nonsense.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

If he earns no other accolades for his directorial debut - a distinct likelihood - Lee Daniels deserves some kind of award just for assembling the most bizarrely random cast of this young century.

Chicago Tribune Jessica Reaves

Gruesome and supremely disjointed foray into the world of hired assassins.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

By the time Gooding showed up for one of his assignments disguised as a call girl, even "Boat Trip" looked good to me.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

This monumentally ridiculous film doesn't stop at subverting stereotypes; it discombobulates narrative logic and the basic laws of human behavior. Still, there's a certain pleasure to be derived from watching the actors attempt to dig out from under the rubble that William Lipz's screenplay repeatedly dumps on their heads.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

If only Shadowboxer had gone for more than an unwavering commitment to imitate better movies, it might have been one for the cult shelves at the video store. Right now, you'll be lucky if you find it in the giveaway bin.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

There's no satisfaction and no pleasure to be gained by sitting through it. The characters are ludicrous and, worse than that, boring. And this is despite all the lead actors doing the best they can.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

It doesn't take long to figure out that Shadowboxer 's Helen Mirren, as a cancer-ridden hitwoman, and Cuba Gooding Jr., as her doting stepson, are the most unconvincing team of hired assassins in movie history.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

A couple of years ago, a disaster like Shadow boxer - with the hapless Cuba Gooding Jr. scraping below the bottom of the barrel - would have gone straight to video or been buried on an obscure cable channel at 3 a.m.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.4 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Frank J. gave it a7:
I enjoyed Mirren and Gooding and while preposterous in its twists, the movie held my interest and entertained despite its gratuitous violence. How many close up homicides are necessary to maintain audience interest? How many butt shots of Gooding are necessary to make a point? Hollywood does not let us down again with its insistence upon redundancy and hit you over the head subtlety. Tinseltown just may never overcome its compulsion to play down to its audience. So they need to balance this insulting direction with casting a Helen Mirren.

Sean J gave it a2:
Those rating it high must be ringers for the distributors - this was trash. Outside of a couple of tepid chuckles at a sex scene in a doctor's office, the look on our faces was boredom. Other sex scenes were contrived, a pointless plot and the second female lead was trying too hard to look like Angelina Jolie--don't waste your time - rent/buy/download something else. Anyone's life is more precious than spending it on this dreck.

Josh D. gave it a10:
This movie was amazing, dark, and twisted. And it was SO beautifully done. A+.

Karen G. gave it a10:
Awesome movie, very provocative & erotic, on the level of "Wild Orchid"

Dr. Marilyn W. gave it a10:
While a number of critics have said many negtive things about this film, my rating is based solely on my emotion reaction to this film. I loved it - all of it. The characters were interesting, the scenes fascinating, the acting excellent, the subplots intriguing. I was turned-on sexually by this film.

T W gave it an8:
I really liked the movie I watched it twice! The Ending could have been better but I was very satisfied.

Sheila R. gave it a10:
I liked the movie even the darkness about it! It just showed a different kind of family - and what love can make you do!

Shadowboxer Freestyle Releasing LLC

Shadowboxer
Freestyle Releasing LLC