Underdog is a dark and gritty boxing epic.

 

I love the sport of boxing and movies that do a great job at depicting the 'beautiful science' often rank amongst my favourites. There have been a great number of movies tackling the sport to mixed success. A few have stood the test of time such as the Rocky series, Raging Bull and The Fighter. Others are hidden gems that are rarely if ever talked about and these are the movies that I love to stumble across. The subject of today's blog post is one that could potentially fit into that latter category. Underdog, directed by Masaharu Take, is a movie that was so big that it had to be split into 2 parts. Shin Adachi also collaborated with Take again after the pair formed quite the team in delivering the wonderful 100-Yen Love. 

Underdog tells the story of a trio of boxers, Akira Suenaga, Ryuta Omura and Shun Miyagi. Suenaga was formerly the number one ranked boxer in all of Japan and once fought for the title. Unfortunately, whilst it was a tremendous bout, he wound up getting caught with a solid punch that left him staring up at the lights. He was never the same after that fight as the defeat haunted him. Despite this, he continued to box and became merely a punching bag with a good name. 

On the other hand, Ryuta Omura is an up and coming, talented young boxer racking up several knockout victories after passing the pro test. Omura and Suenaga have a chance meeting with Omura respecting Suenaga due to being a fan of his. Despite being on friendly terms, the 2 are matched up against one another in the final showdown of Part 2. 

The third boxer that the movies focus on is Shun Miyagi, a failing comedian who turns to boxing in the hope of saving his television career that is spiralling. Miyagi seems to be a jokester with a showy personality that no one takes seriously. Beneath that showboating exterior is a serious frustration that is exasperated by his friends exploiting him by using his apartment to throw parties without gaining his express permission. He also never gained his father's acknowledgement or approval and that becomes a driving force for him. Then when no one takes his boxing aspirations seriously, his frustrations come to the surface as he gives it his all in an exhibition bout with Suenaga. A bout in which nobody believes he has any chance of winning. 

Underdog is a dark, gritty and mostly a depressing movie especially when it comes to focusing on Akira Suenaga. Suenaga is a broken man haunted by his past defeat, separated from his wife and son. Boxing seems to be one of his only outlets for all of his stress as he meanders through the same routine day after day. His boxing coach has essentially given up on him, constantly urging him to retire and even claiming that he never shone brightly as only champions do. His work life is also pretty dull as he drives escorts around the city before peeping on them and pleasuring himself at the sight of them working. His trips to erotic parlours lack passion much like everything in his life. Even Omura can't lift his spirits during his visits to Suenaga's nightly training sessions despite the enthusiasm that the younger boxer showcases. 

So it's very interesting that it takes Akemi, an escort that Suenaga consistently drives to a disabled man's house for work along with his son's mature words of advice and his wife, Yoshiko's refusal to talk to him, that finally reignite his passion for boxing and find a purpose in life. 

It's devastating to learn that despite the setbacks such as his delinquent past coming back to bite him, Omura's drive and passion for boxing is sparked by Suenaga. Why is that devastating? It's heart-wrenching because of the fact that the 2 inevitably face off for the climatic showdown of the movie. 

                               

The cinematography is solid, but unspectacular for the most part. The non-boxing sequences, the drama, is framed almost exclusively with static shots. There are a few dynamic, moving shots thrown in, but they're rare. In contrast the boxing sequences are framed with a raw roughness that underlines the brutality of the sport. There's some neat slow motion shots that help to further highlight the impact of devastating punches. Almost every punch thrown is perfectly framed as it's clear to the viewers what is happening in each particular moment. Part 2 differs to Part 1 by having musical accompaniments that help sell emotion and heighten emotion. I say this despite preferring the scenes being left without music as I feel like there's more tension when there's no noise besides the punches thrown, the referee making calls and the crowd reactions. 

The boxing itself is pretty solid for the most part. It definitely helped that cast members such as Mirai Moriyama trained in boxing for six months before shooting began. Some great use of the clinch when the boxers are rocked by a good shot which shows that Take and Adachi have some knowledge of the sport. Needed some more jabs being thrown though to set up the hooks and crosses. The one thing that actually frustrated me was the exhibition bout at the end of part 1. Suenaga landed several unanswered strikes, left Miyagi wobbling after he beat the ten count and did some big damage to him. Any fight that goes that way in real life would have been stopped by the ref. It does make for great on-screen drama though. 

Mirai Moriyama is brilliant as the ultimate underdog, Akira Suneaga. Most of his impressive work is showcased via subtle facial expressions and body language. He embodies the emptiness felt by the character as well as his passivity as he just lives from one day to the next without a true purpose. In Part 2, Moriyama switches gears by changing up his performance to suit the character's new found passion and drive to succeed despite everything being against him. 

Ryo Katsuji is splendid as the comedian turned pro boxer, Shun Miyagi. He nails the showboating side that comes from the character being a comedian. His exaggerated comedic expressions and motions are on point and he excels at selling the growing frustration at not being taken seriously. His immediate shift in expressions and body language when he has a moment alone after having been performing for the public and his friends is tremendous. 

Overall, if you enjoy stories of people fighting to overcome adversity and don't mind gritty, depressing scenarios with characters that are clawing their way up from rock bottom, then I heavily recommend Underdog. Fans of boxing movies should find enjoyment in the movie.