A cast that features Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding, Jr. A film directed by one of the producers of "Monster's Ball" (2001) and "The Woodsman" (2004).
So why does "Shadowboxer" feel so familiar?
Screenwriter William Lipz's script tries awfully hard to upend the hit-man-for-hire genre and succeeds to an extent. The trouble with "Shadowboxer" is that despite giving us rather absorbing characters - they may not be likable, but they are interesting and that's what I seek in a film - he doesn't give us a story that's all that unique.
I can understand why Gooding took this role. After winning the Oscar for "Jerry Maguire" (1996), his career seemed to stall. Instead of getting better roles, poor Gooding wound up in truly horrible movies - "Chill Factor" (1996), "Pearl Harbor" (2001), "Snow Dogs" (2002) and "Boat Trip" (2002).
So playing Mikey, the hit-man with a more than slight Oedipal complex, might have seemed like an incredibly juicy role. And it is. Especially when you have the opportunity to play opposite the brilliant Helen Mirren.
Together, Gooding and Mirren create an interesting duo. They provide a good psychological study and add a freshness to what can be a rather tiresome genre.
On the other hand, the plot leaves very little for the imagination. Stephen Dorff is pleasantly smarmy as the villain. But the twists and turns Lipz's story takes never keeps us guessing. We can anticipate what's coming and Lipz never bothers to keep his story tightly-coiled or even vaguely surprising.
In the end, even Vanessa Ferlito baring her breasts can't save this one.
So why does "Shadowboxer" feel so familiar?
Screenwriter William Lipz's script tries awfully hard to upend the hit-man-for-hire genre and succeeds to an extent. The trouble with "Shadowboxer" is that despite giving us rather absorbing characters - they may not be likable, but they are interesting and that's what I seek in a film - he doesn't give us a story that's all that unique.
I can understand why Gooding took this role. After winning the Oscar for "Jerry Maguire" (1996), his career seemed to stall. Instead of getting better roles, poor Gooding wound up in truly horrible movies - "Chill Factor" (1996), "Pearl Harbor" (2001), "Snow Dogs" (2002) and "Boat Trip" (2002).
So playing Mikey, the hit-man with a more than slight Oedipal complex, might have seemed like an incredibly juicy role. And it is. Especially when you have the opportunity to play opposite the brilliant Helen Mirren.
Together, Gooding and Mirren create an interesting duo. They provide a good psychological study and add a freshness to what can be a rather tiresome genre.
On the other hand, the plot leaves very little for the imagination. Stephen Dorff is pleasantly smarmy as the villain. But the twists and turns Lipz's story takes never keeps us guessing. We can anticipate what's coming and Lipz never bothers to keep his story tightly-coiled or even vaguely surprising.
In the end, even Vanessa Ferlito baring her breasts can't save this one.