Phantom Punch (2008)

• Year: 2008
• Released: 01 Sep 2008
• Country: Canada, United States
• Adwords: N/A
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131747/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/phantom_punch
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
• Runtime: 104 min
• Writer: Ryan Combs
• Director: Robert Townsend
• Cast: Ving Rhames, Stacey Dash, Nicholas Turturro
• Keywords: rape, sports, boxer, biography, heavyweight champion,

	5.5/10
	43% – Critics
	43% – Audience

Phantom Punch Storyline

“Before Tyson, There was Liston” www.phantompunchmovie.comSonny Liston, the controversial former world heavyweight boxing champion is brought back to vivid life by actor Ving Rhames in the Robert Townsend directed biopic Phantom Punch. From his discovery by a priest while serving time at the Missouri State Penitentiary to the infamous Phantom Punch by Cassius Clay which effectively ended his career, the movie spans the years from 1950 to his mysterious and untimely death in 1971. His run ins with racism, the mob and the law are all examined, as are his personal relationships with his wife and lover, as the film shares his triumphant and tragic story. From the lows of poverty and jail to the heights of a world championship, Phantom Punch provides audiences with a compelling portrait of the man behind the headlines.

Phantom Punch Photos

Phantom Punch Torrents Download

Phantom Punch Subtitles Download

Phantom Punch Movie Reviews

A lot of historical inconsistencies …..

If you want to see what the real Sonny was all about, watch HBO’s documentary “Sonny Liston: The Mysterious Life and Death of a Champion”. Its brilliant!! This movie…well not so good. Ving Rhames is great as usual. Problem is he may be a tad old for the role, plus he didn’t have much to work with here. A lot of what we know about Sonny was historically inaccurate or missing. No harassment from Ali(a young Cassius Clay) before, or after the Patterson rematch. Ali (Clay) made Liston’s life hell for over a year before their first fight. No scene detailing Sonny slapping Ali’s face in a casino. Not even a mention of his first fight against Marty Marshall. Liston suffered a broken jaw in the fourth round before losing a close 8-round decision. But you wouldn’t know it from this film. Sonny was no choirboy nice-guy for sure. But he deserves better than Phantom Punch.

The mystery has been solved

Robert Townsend said in reports that he wanted to show the true Sonny Liston and he said, “History hasn’t been kind to Sonny Liston.” He goes and he makes Liston’s death look like a suicide instead of a murder? He shows Liston just plain quitting on the stool in his first fight with Ali? He shows Liston trying to blind Ali in the first fight? He shows Liston throwing the Ali rematch for no apparent reason? Townsend is an idiot. This movie is so bad it makes Meteor Man look like a masterpiece.

I was unfortunate enough to see this movie and now I know why it was never released. It is a piece of garbage. This is one of the worst movies I’ve ever scene. Not only is it a terrible boxing movie, but it’s an awful biopic. I was really shocked at how bad this movie was. I couldn’t wait for a movie about Sonny Liston and this is what I got? This movie hasn’t been released to theaters and it never will be. If Townsend is lucky, maybe the movie will get released straight to DVD or maybe they will put it on TV. But I don’t see this doing well wherever it goes.

Meteor Man failed to mention in his movie that Liston was the favorite in his fights with Ali. In the first fight, Liston was a 7-1 favorite. It would make all the sense in the world for him to take a dive for the mob. I read accounts that Liston said he was “only following orders” when he quit on the stool. Another stupid part of the scene that had me shaking my head was the part when Townsend shows them putting a foreign substance on his glove to blind Ali. First of all, Liston did not need to cheat. Liston was a great fighter. He was one of the toughest fighters in history and he wasn’t afraid of anyone. This is a man that knocked out the great Floyd Patterson in 2 minutes. Then it only took him 5 seconds more in the rematch. He slugged it out in 2 wars with Cleveland Williams. He fought a whole fight with a broken jaw and only lost a split decision to Marty Marshall. Second of all, why would Liston try to cheat in a fight that he was going to throw? There’s no doubt something got in Ali’s eyes during the fight, but to say Liston put it there is ridiculous and there is no proof. In the end of the fight Townsend tries to make you believe Liston just quit like a spineless bum. I know some people would love to believe Ali was this mighty man that overcame Sonny Liston, but let’s get real. That’s not the way it was.

The movie gets to the big moment, the infamous “phantom punch.” The scene is so uneventfully done in the movie it’s pathetic. Townsend never even tells you why Liston took a dive in the rematch. He just goes down for no apparent reason. Townsend had the nerve to keep the mob out of that fight too. That fight was fixed. It looked like even more of a sham than the first fight.

This movie failed to show Sonny Liston’s hard upbringing. It also failed to show that he really wasn’t a bad guy and that he loved children and even tried to help people that were less fortunate. One of the biggest slaps in the face to Liston is how they handle his death in the movie. Instead of showing Liston getting murdered they make it look like a suicide. I was completely outraged. I didn’t think Townsend could be that dumb. In the movie they make it look like Liston was depressed over his girlfriend on the side leaving him, so he does heroine one night. The guy was deathly afraid of needles. He never did drugs in his life. Sonny Liston was M-U-R-D-E-R-E-D.

You want the real scoop on Liston, get the book The Devil and Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches. Nick Tosches did what Townsend lied about saying he was going to do. Townsend made Liston look like a no good bum, but that wasn’t the real Liston. Townsend should be ashamed of himself. Check out the Tosches book. Avoid this horribly written and directed movie at all costs. I do not recommend buying it or renting it. It’s not even worth watching on TV. I don’t think Townsend was taking his job seriously when he made this movie. By the looks of it, it’s like he was just fooling around. If you were wondering why this movie was never released, you have your answer. The mystery has been solved.

Ving Rhames stellar performance is the only reason to see this bio of Sonny Liston

Ving Rhames turns in another stellar performance as Sonny Liston in Robert Townsend’s film of Liston’s rise and fall. Liston was an ex-con who rose through the ranks of professional boxing to take on Cassius Clay before he was felled by a “phantom punch” and his own demons. Rhames is truly amazing as Liston and you feel for him. Unfortunately the rest of the film is nowhere near his level with some bad performances, a weak script with awful dialog and a directorial style that makes this tough going. If it wasn’t for Rhames performance I would day that the film isn’t worth bothering with, but he’s so good that he really should be seen if this comes across your TV screen on cable