Champion (2002)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Absolutely the worst movie.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The 1982 lightweight championship bout between Ray Mancini and Kim Deuk-gu is famous for the immense impact it had not only on those directly involved in it but also on the public, the media and the sport of boxing itself. Much was written and discussed in its aftermath with understandably a lot of focus on Mancini. 'Champion' is the story of the man on the other side of the ring - the then relatively unknown Korean fighter Kim Deuk-gu.'Champion' uses the 1982 bout to bookend the story of Kim, in between documenting his poverty-stricken beginnings, his personal triumphs and tragedies, and his eventual rise from national champion to world title contender. Like most dramas of this ilk, the actual sport is used more as a metaphor to tell a story of human triumph and will in the face of adversity.Pretty much everything in 'Champion' hits the nail on the head with regards to telling Kim's story: the performances, the cinematography, the fight scenes, even the kitschy 1970s/80s wardrobe all come together with good effect. Kim's life story was already as much inspiring as it was tragic, and thankfully 'Champion' doesn't add unnecessary "ornamentation" to tell it.A very minor quibble for me was the pacing which seemed to jump around a bit too much. I do appreciate that with a docudrama such as this there are going to be concessions made and again it was only a minor hang-up. Also, as a stand-alone film the ending leaves a bit to be desired. However, if you take 'Champion' as one piece in the overall story of the Mancini-Kim bout, it feels much more effective. I would highly recommend following this up with the excellent documentary 'The Good Son' which takes a retrospective of the event 30 years later.Overall, an involving human drama and a nice companion piece to the story of the bout that forever changed the face of boxing.

I was watching the boxing match that this film depicts in 1982, when I saw Kim take the blows that would lead to his death on live TV. I believe that Howard Kossel may have been commenting on the fight at the time, and I understood from his statements, that a tragedy had just occurred. I knew in my heart that I had just seen a man killed in the ring... he was unknown to me at the time, all I knew was that he was South Korean... I have always wondered about Kim, and who he was.I was very pleased to see that someone had finally told Kim's story, and I was truly touched by this film, and felt that I had gotten to know, in some way, something about the man that I had watched die performing a sport that I still enjoy to this day. Bravo!!! I can finally put a face to the name.

Champion is about the life and death of Korean boxer Deuk-Gu Kim in the boxing ring. The film went into great detail about Kim's life and times during the 1980s and outlined how Kim came to be a great boxer. Kim's family was also depicted in this film. Boom Boom Mancini was the boxer that injured Kim in such a way as to cause his death. If you're looking for a biography about Kim, then this film is for you. You will know everything you ever wanted to know about Kim. The film was well made as a class B+ with many good attributes. It is subtitled in most places so you do have to read the dialog. Get the DVD if you have some time to kill.

Although i do not speak Korean, I had an opportunity to view this movie while taking a class at my school. It concerns the life and trials of boxer Kim, Deuk-Gu, in and out of the ring. I thought this movie had a lot of passion behind it, the characters where well developed (especially the coach) and the story was very good. The end was my favorite part (as insulting as that sounds,) with his son seeing his ghost in the gym. I fell this was an overall success, with good writing, and few things to complain about, aside from the fact i had to read all the dialogue. I recommend this to anyone, Korean or not.