In 1976, ROCKY won the Oscar for Best Picture. It beat TAXI DRIVER.

Star of ROCKY, Sylvester Stallone and star of TAXI DRIVER, Robert de Niro were in contention for best actor. They were pushed out of the ring by a posthumous Peter Finch for NETWORK.

In 1980, De Niro clinched the Oscar for RAGING BULL.

Building on the iconic Hollywood history of ROCKY and RAGING BULL, the studios have seen fit to pair Sly and Bobby in a faux fight between Balboa and La Motta in GRUDGE MATCH (M).

Of course it’s not Rocky and Jake duking it out – Sly’s character is called Henry “Razor” Sharp and Bobby plays Billy “The Kid” McDonnen, but the personalities are remarkably similar to their previous iconic personas.

Sharp shares Rocky’s sentimental side, complete with sidekick trainer now grumpy retainer, Alan Arkin channelling Burgess Meredith, while McDonnen is akin to La Motta’s arrogance and womanising.

It’s a woman as much as professional rivalry that has fueled the feud for forty years, Sally, played by Kim Basinger. “The Kid” sired a son with her and broke “Razor’s” heart.

Now the rematch has rekindled a reconciliation, a reunion of lovers and father and son.

Tim Kelleher and Rodney Rothman’s script pretty much plays it by numbers but what lifts the film into contention is the champion performances of Stallone and De Niro, complete with some impressive physical muscle. Kim Basinger punches above the weight of the script and the canny casting of Jon Bernthal as Sally and the Kid’s kid, BJ. Interestingly, the De Nitro look alike was cast by Marty Scorsese in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET.

Occasionally the film veers into crass, but for the most part it shows more class than could have been expected from a such a premeditated marketing ploy.