Should You See 'Grudge Match'? Rocky v Raging Bull? No, No You Shouldn't.

Why do Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone do this king of thing? They’re both revered as legends of cinema, to be remembered forever for their classic turns as Travis Bickle, Jake LaMotta, Rocky and Rambo respectively, so why do they both insist on doing truly awful films like Grudge Match?

Why, why, why Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone?

The short answer would involve the words, money, loads of it, and payday, but there’s a sneaking suspicion that these Hollywood stalwarts actually think the constant slew of unfunny, unimaginative reboot/reunion movies are a good idea – like they’ve got an ounce of artistic integrity attached to them. They don’t.

It was De Niro's fault - he persuaded Stallone to get involved

There’s a short answer to whether you should take some time out of your well-earned weekend to let the pair tell you the story of ‘Grudge Match’ using their ‘acting’. That answer is no, and we’re going to let the critics tell you why not.

Our very own Rich Cline gave the stars the benefit of the doubt, though ultimately opined, "Of course they start off gruffly snarling at each other but eventually find the expected mutual respect. And that's about the extent of the acting required of these two iconic stars"

“Never have I wanted to un-see a film more badly than this,” said The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw. “Something about it reminds you of the sequence from the original Rocky film in which Stallone spars with a side of beef, except with Stallone replaced by a second side of beef, and the first side of beef fighting back,” said The Daily Telegraph’s Robbie Collin.

Watch the Grudge Match trailer

Nick De Semlyen of Empire Magazine said Grudge Match is “an idea that must have sounded good on paper looks a lot less smart on the screen,” Curtis Woloschuk decided that “cheap sentimentality can't disguise the crashing cynicism on display.”

Our resident critic was a bit kinder - read our review here

In short: it’s bad. 26% on Rotten Tomatoes bad. People who don’t know who Stallone and De Niro might decide it would be a good idea to see it, and they might find something to laugh about, even if it’s an ironic chuckle. A warning to the nostalgic lovers of film, though: this could ruin your whole life.