The Great White Hype

1996

Action / Comedy / Sport

13
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 35% · 24 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 35% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 5.5/10 10 11050 11.1K

sports boxer las vegas boxing promoter promoter heavyweight champion

Plot summary

When the champ's promoter, Rev. Sultan, decides something new is needed to boost the marketability of the boxing matches, he searches and finds the only man to ever beat the champ. The problem is that he isn't a boxer anymore and he's white. However, once Rev. Sultan convinces him to fight, he goes into heavy training while the confident champ takes it easy and falls out of shape.

Director

Reginald Hudlin Photo
Reginald Hudlin

Top cast

Samuel L. Jackson Photo
Samuel L. Jackson as Rev. Fred Sultan
Deezer D Photo
Deezer D as Roper's Crony #2
Al Rodrigo Photo
Al Rodrigo as Press Member #1
Susan Gibney Photo
Susan Gibney as Vivian
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
765.24 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
Seeds 3
1.44 GB
1920*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 31 min
Seeds 12

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by view_and_review 7 / 10

Tailor Made for 80's and 90's Boxing Fans

"The Great White Hype" soundtrack was the first soundtrack I ever bought. I think it's one of only two or three I've ever purchased. But never mind the soundtrack we're talking about the movie.TGWH was funny and entertaining especially if you are a boxing fan. It's particularly funny if you can see certain personalities in the various characters. Reverend Fred Sultan (Samuel L. Jackson) was a Don King type of promoter who was fleecing his fighters. James "The Grim Reaper" Roper (Damon Wayans) was a Mike Tyson type of fighter, almost too dominant. Terry Conklin (Peter Berg) was pretty much every white heavyweight in the 80's and 90's. And all of the rest of the characters, from the entourage, to the challenger, to the various other boxing industry characters--they were all lampoons of the real deal.As a boxing fan, and as a fan of all of the actors in this movie, I enjoyed it.
Reviewed by jotix100 6 / 10

The Irish stallion

Reginald Hudlin's "The Great White Hype" is a satire about what's wrong in boxing. The sport has had its share of bad luck, as it seems to attract a criminal element to what should be a competition between two men in the ring. The film starts with a promise to make justice to the material that Ron Shelton, one of the best writers/directors that has done his share about sports, co-wrote, but it feels as though something is missing, especially the anti-climactic conclusion.The best thing in the film is Samuel L. Jackson, an immensely talented actor who feels right at home portraying these low lives that only he can give them life and even make them likable. We wouldn't miss a movie in which this actor play because he always delivers, as is the case with his cunning character, the Reverend Fred Sultan. He is a boxing promoter who likes to cheat on his boxers, which is what he does to the actual champion, James, the Grim Reaper, Roper. Instead of paying him the money he owes him, he buys him another Rolls Royce.Reverend Sultan comes up with a great idea for his protégé Roper. He has heard the way the champ was defeated in his early years by Terry Conklin, a man that now has a career as a singer. Promising Terry a lot of money if he agrees, Sultan cons him into fighting Roper again and he creates a hype around the fight, the main attraction being, a black boxer, who is a champion, fighting an unknown white man. The racial implications play into the minds of the fans.Everything leading up to the match plays well. The only problem is the figure of Mitchell Kane, a sports commentator, who has been critical of the sleazy Reverend. Sultan takes care of that bringing him on board his team. On the other hand, loyal Sol, who has been with the Reverend for a while, gets fired.Damon Wayans has some good opportunities to show what a talented actor he really is. He knows he can defeat Terry Conklin. In the process of waiting for the fight he begins eating and puts on weight. Others in the film are, Jamie Foxx, who has a small, but effective role as the manager of another black boxer who wants to fight Roper. Peter Berg is clearly out of his league in the film as Terry Conklin a man who wants to eradicate the homelessness in America with the ten million dollars he has been promised. Jeff Goldblum, a good actor, is not convincing as Mitchell Kane. The beautiful Salli Richardson appears as Bambi, an intelligent young woman who clearly understands what's going on.
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