No Surrender Cinema: Gladiator (1992)

It’s December 26th. It’s the day after Christmas. All the presents have been unwrapped, and everyone’s stomachs are full. It’s also Boxing Day, and I’m still in the Christmas spirit. So, for all of you who have supported Bulletproof Action and No Surrender Cinema through the years, here’s another present for you; a very special edition of NSC that celebrates Boxing Day by shining a light on an oft-forgotten film full of two-fisted fury. Join me as I get in the ring with Gladiator!

First off, let’s clear up any confusion; this is most definitely not the more well-known epic of the same name. That’s 2000’s Gladiator, and if you’re looking for Russell Crowe or Joaquin Phoenix, you won’t find them here. However, you will find a strong ensemble cast, especially for the era, and the forces of good rising up against a man corrupted by power. Oh, and we’re not heading back to ancient Rome; our journey begins on the mean streets of Chicago’s inner city.

Gladiator immediately introduces us to Tommy Riley (James Marshall), a hard-edged newcomer to the city that looks like a younger (and much more intense) Val Kilmer. Tommy wastes no time in running afoul of local gangbangers that are part of a crew called the Stormtroopers, led by Shortcut. When Tommy gets cornered outside of school by Shortcut and his crew, he’s saved by fellow student Abraham Lincoln Haines (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who leads a group of “Avenging Angels” that don’t take too kindly to the Stormtroopers’ activities. We learn that Shortcut and Haines have a history, and the two get into a brief skirmish before Shortcut, who had been previously banned from being on school grounds, is hauled off by security. 

Haines stepping in spared Tommy the wrath of Shortcut and his crew this time, but he’s still got problems…or rather, he’s inherited his dad’s problems. Tommy gets approached by a couple of debt collectors who have been trying to catch up to his father (John Heard) about his overdue payments. It turns out that Tommy’s the new kid in town because his dad was forced to flee when he got in over his head with a bookie named Sharkey, and now his guys have come to shake him down for the past due amount, plus interest. Tommy’s dad doesn’t seem to be in a big rush to make good with the gangsters, so Tommy takes it upon himself to make his old man whole by getting a job as a dishwasher at a local diner owned by the mother of Dawn (Cara Buono), a girl from Tommy’s school who has been eyeing him since he arrived. When Tommy ends up in a scuffle with Shortcut and his cronies outside of the diner one night, the fight gets broken up by Pappy Jack (Robert Loggia), who warns Shortcut that Mr. Horn (Brian Dennehy) won’t be happy to hear that he’s fighting in the streets when he should be fighting in the ring. See, Mr. Horn happens to be the local kingpin who puts on underground boxing matches for his own personal gain and amusement. Pappy Jack notices that Tommy throws one hell of a punch, and gets him set up for a match, which Tommy takes for the purpose of winning enough to pay off his dad’s debts. Tommy’s resilience, perseverance, and a little fighting knowledge from elderly trainer Noah help him achieve victory, and his big win catches the attention of Horn himself, who wants nothing more than for Tommy to be his new golden boy.

Despite promises of big money and a chance to be a big boxing star, Tommy has no interest in continuing down this path. Unfortunately for him, Horn isn’t the type of man to take no for an answer, and pretty much blackmails Tommy into continuing to fight for him. Tommy never fully embraces the lifestyle of an underground fighter, but he does use the opportunity to bond with Noah, as well as Romano (another classmate that Tommy encountered on his first day), and Lincoln. We also get a MONTAGE~! showing Tommy and Lincoln rising through the ranks, Tommy and Dawn falling in love, and Horn extremely pleased with how his latest investment has turned out. Tommy seems to be making the most out of his circumstances, channeling the anger and resentment that has built up within him into raw skill that takes him to the top of the circuit. Life isn’t all sunshine and roses though, because as fast as things have turned around for Tommy, they come crashing down just as hard. Shortcut beats Romano into a vegetative state, dear old dad abandons him once again, and Tommy realizes that Horn doesn’t have his best interests at heart. These setbacks culminate in a fight with Shortcut where Tommy learns to channel his anger (and take advantage of the lax rules) to put his enemy down, albeit on his terms.

Going into Gladiator, you’d think that Tommy vs. Shortcut would be the “ultimate challenge” for our hero to overcome, or the “final battle” to send the fans home happy, but rather than the heroic newcomer overcoming the hometown thug, the final fight ends up being Tommy vs. Lincoln! The two are pitted against each other by Horn, who is well aware that Lincoln’s recent head trauma could spell certain death should he be hit too hard, but big promises and some not so subtle threats put our heroes on a collision course. Being a high school student that’s already a father, Linc, like Tommy, sees the fights as a way out of the hood and a way to build up his savings account. Linc doesn’t really want to fight Tommy, but is willing to go along with it, but Tommy flat out refuses to fight his friend. The bond between the two becomes strained, but the bigger problem is Horn, who continues to impose his will on the fighters all in the name of the almighty dollar.

Gladiator is a potpourri of movie genres; we’ve got the underdog story, the boxing drama, and the gangster film merging together for one hell of an action film. Not only that, but Gladiator sports a killer soundtrack as well, one of the best of the 90’s. We’ve got “Mama Said Knock You Out”, “U Can’t Touch This”, and “Rico Suave” all appearing in the film, not to mention Warrant’s cover of “We Will Rock You” and the song “Gladiator” which was the last song ever done by influential hip hop group 3rd Bass. Oh, and it was written by Robert Mark Kamen, (who created the juggernaut known as The Karate Kid franchise) and was directed by the man who directed Road House. You would think a movie that could boast a cast, crew, and soundtrack like this would be better remembered, but for whatever reason, Gladiator isn’t thought about as much as it should be. It’s sort of ironic that this movie about a pair of hard-hitting underdogs would end up as an underdog itself, battling for relevance in a crowded pool of 90’s sports dramas and crime flicks. This was Cuba Gooding Jr.’s followup to the classic Boyz n the Hood, people! Show it some love!

There are elements in the film that do seem slightly rushed or all together forgotten at points (John Heard is an extended cameo at best, and a subplot of Pappy Jack looking like he’s going to overthrown Horn never comes to fruition), but besides those criticisms, I can’t think of one thing I disliked about the film. I vividly remember the original commercials promoting the film (which gave away the climax) and I guess when I was younger I didn’t realize that the film had flopped, since it was prominent on cable for quite a while until disappearing into thin air., and the fact that it doesn’t have a major US DVD or Blu-Ray release (my copy is a barebones, region free DVD) doesn’t help matters. That said, it can be had for a fair price and does pop up occasionally (but not often) on Starz and Tubi. This is one that you’ll have to be willing to seek out if you want to watch it, but it’ll be time and money well spent should you do so.