[wp-review id=”79120″]
And in this corner, weighing 224 lbs, from Bayonne New Jersey, The Bayonne Bleeder, The Champ, Chuck Wepner!
In 1975, Chuck Wepner was a heavyweight boxer who was beginning to make a name for himself. He is given the chance to go up against Muhammed Ali and this guy could take a punch. I don’t just mean in the ring but with his everyday life. He has money problems, drug problems, women problems, and getting his life together problems.
CHUCK is directed by Philippe Falardeau who has a few feature films under his belt. The casting choice for Liev Schreiber as Chuck is a good choice. He has a big build, appreciates boxing and can work a range of emotions.
Cast
Liev Schreiber – Chuck Wepner
Naomi Watts – Linda
Elisabeth Moss – Phyllis
Jim Gaffigan – John Stoehr
Michael Rapaport – John
Pooch Hall – Muhammad Ali
Morgan Spector – Sylvester Stallone
Ron Perlman – Al Braverman
VIDEO QUALITY:
The transfer is a 1080p AVC presentation that maintains a ‘70s vintage look. There is a nice grain over the film to make it match up with some of the stock footage of the New Jersey/Philadelphia area in the stock footage. That grain can get the images in some trouble when it comes to the contrasting and low-lit areas such as the bars. The details are there in a lot of the facial lines and the makeup to make Chuck’s rough look rough.
AUDIO QUALITY:
The audio is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that has its moments. Being a boxing movie, there are a few times where all of the speakers get a decent workout. Some of the lighter examples of that are in the bars and when Chuck goes to train. The home theater rockers are in scenes such as the Ali fight or the Bear Charity brawl. The dialogue is clear and mixed very well with the music. This is a very strong effort.
SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING
-All About Chuck: This is a featurette about Chuck himself and the prep that Liev Schreiber went through to become a boxer.
Disc Details
1 Blu-ray Disc
Running Time
98 mins
Edition Ratings
Rated R
Region Coding
Region Free
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles
English
English SDH
Spanish
THE BOTTOM LINE:
CHUCK is a movie that they listed like ROCKY meets GOODFELLAS but I didn’t get that. It more reminded me of RAGING BULL. There are some funny moments but watching a boxer trying to be relevant so late in the game can be sad to watch. As I mentioned, Schreiber does a tremendous job in the movie and really makes you feel the character that he is putting on. The video is decent with a few technical issues but the audio is solid. You would think that with a movie like this, there would be a heavier set of extras included but there is only one on the release. Overall, is you’re a fan of sports/boxing movies or like Liev Schreiber, check this one out.
