Diagonaldi Very well executed

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Yazmin Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

dunsuls-1 The real story of these 2 boxing legends would take a TV series a few years to give it justice.This Starrz movie released in 2002 tries it in 106 minutes with a so so cast and a poor choice for the actor,Leonard Roberts as Joe Louis,who doesn't have the screen presence to portray such a legendary figure.However the story of these two men is so compelling that we should be happy for at least this effort by Starrz and enjoy it as such.Til Schweiger as Max Schmeling is a bit more believable since less is known by most about him.He was vilified as a "Nazi"and so this film tries to redefine that image of him and rightly so.Not shown in this film is the fact he helped paid for Joes funeral and although he is shown helping a Jewish neighbor in the film,the story is more compelling then shown.In total the film is a good start but the fact the IRS hounded Joe till his death is indeed a story for our times.Nether Joe or Max with without sin,but they were both heros and deserve to be remembered.

ma-cortes The film is correctly based on true events, it concerns about Joe Louis(Leonard Roberts),the American Brown Bomber and Max Schmeling(Til Schweiger),the strongest man in Germany.Joe Louis was United States' most successful heavyweight boxer and champion of the world until his defeat by Rocky Marciano with led to downfall,his wife((Siena Gaines) separation and towards the end of his life.Most experts had predicted that the black boxer would have no trouble with the aging German.Schmeling was the only German to hold the heavyweight championship of the world .His victory over Joe Louis in N.Y. in the summer of 1936 was greeted with an explosion of joy in the Third Reich.Nazi propagandists ,however, insisted that regarded as the strongest on earth could not be beaten by a Negro.Both Hitler(Rolf Kaines) and Joseph Goebbels(Wilfried Hoch),Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda sent Schleming telegrams of congratulations.An extraordinary welcome was arranged for the German Boxer on his return home.From that point he became a display figure for Nazi propagandists, who hailed his victory as a triumph for the Nordic race over inferior black athletes.But German boxing fans were crushed when was received that in a return bout on June 22,1938,the engagement was arranged at Yankee stadium.In this grudge combat Louis hurled himself at the German with unrestrained fury.Louis gave him a fearful beating in the second shortest fight heavyweight history.The consternation was matched by another disappointment when it was revealed that Annie Ondra(Peta Wilson),the tall,big-boned,blond German woman and besides a famous actress,who was regarded as the ideal specimen of Aryan womanhood,was actually Jewish.Later Schmeling recruited in the German Army.On May 20,1941 ,he was one of the parachutists who jumped from transport planes to occupy Crete in a brilliant assault.From 1957 on he was the owner of an American Coca Cola franchise and retained his popularity as a great sports figure in both USA and Germany. The picture has a magnificent acting by all the cast and especially the duo protagonist(Roberts and Schweiger).Atmospheric music by Jeff Beal and excellent cinematography by Bill Butler.The motion picture is well directed by Steve James. Rating: Notable and well worth watching.

caspian1978 Yes, this is a good movie. Yes, it had good leading and supporting actors. But why did they cast some of the worst extras in motion picture history. For starters, when you have to cast a Rocky Marciano extra for a film, do yourself a favor and cast an Italian actor! Even if he's not Italian, get an actor who looks like Rocky Marciano! This is one of the reasons why this film sticks out in the viewers mind. Like Bret Favres' acting in Something About Mary, the extras in this film stood out as wrong for the roles. They casted a 6'3, Irish looking, skinny actor to play a 5'8 heavy weight Italian Rocky Marciano. Even the guy who played Hitler seemed too wrong for the role. Not as evil as history predicts. The guy they got to play Hitler looked like a short, German actor with a bad mustache. Anyway, the overall point is that every factor of a film matters. From the little things to the big picture, everything counts.

Allan FINEBERG Joe and Max is an okay, upbeat movie that seeks to put across a message: Brotherhood is Nice; or perhaps Why Can't We All Just Get Along? It's a film in which it is clear who are the good guys and who are the bad. Hitler, Goebbels and all those folks strutting around Heil-Hitlering, doing the goose step and wearing the swastika armband are bad. Hiss. The good guys are Joe Louis and Max Schmelling and pretty much everyone who doesn't do the things mentioned in the previous sentence. Yay.The problem with message films like this is that they need a little more than that to retain the viewer's interest. Things like character development, sex or good scenery. Joe and Max has none of these things, so it's a matter of preaching the message of brotherhood to those who already believe in that, else they wouldn't be watching the picture in the first place.Everybody in the film seems to be earnestly acting their hearts out, and I must say the guy who plays Hitler is great: his Hitler is really creepy and scary-looking.All in all, it's not a bad film, but maybe you could spend your time doing something more worthwhile than watching Joe and Max bonding with one another.