Official Synopsis:
Donnie Rose (Sutherland) has been in prison for the past nine years for beating a black teen so brutally that it left him handicapped for life. Now, Donnie is out. He's a different man with only one place to go: back home to the same violent and racist place that created him. George Carvery (Glover) has waited nine years to avenge his son's fate at the hands of Donnie. The instrument of justice will be Ossie Paris (Alexander), a devastatingly talented boxer who challenges Donnie to a match. But when George and Donnie meet face to face, the need for revenge subsides, and they form the unlikeliest of bonds as Donnie prepares for the fight of his life.
  
Our Take:
It’s a good day when a direct-to-DVD movie not only entertains you, but proves to be of a higher quality of filmmaking in just about every way than many typical Hollywood A-list films. Poor Boy’s Game did just that for me. It boosted my waning spirits as I sat down to watch what I thought was going to be just another failed movie destined to only play in a select few homes.

My initial draw to Poor Boy’s Game was the boxing element. So, you can imagine my surprise when the boxing aspect turned out to be the dullest part of the film. The threat of the fight was always greater than the actual fight. It was shot in a style where the actors pulled their punches too much and everything looked like they were doing an awkward dance in slow-motion. It wasn’t so bad that I would describe the fight as looking horrid, but it certainly didn’t resemble that much of a real fight either.

Where the movie excels is the area where, when written in print, sounds dumb and unrealistic: the plot. The father of a boy who’s been beaten so bad that he’s become mentally handicapped for the rest of his life takes it upon himself to train the boy who put his son in said situation to win a boxing match. Ridiculous, I know. The crazy thing is that as awful as it sounds in writing is how awesome it plays out in film. It all works and you can nail it down to the characters that the writers created as well as the performances that bring them to life.

One such performance was by a man who I didn’t know existed - Rossif Sutherland…Donald’s son and Kiefer’s half-brother. The Sutherlands are one of many talented families in the realm of acting and Rossif apparently intends to keep up the legacy.

Special features for Poor Boy’s Game include:

* Music Video – “Africaville” by Black Union Feat. Maestro (4 minutes).

* Photo Gallery – Featuring the song Breathe by Luke Nicholson.

It’s more than understanding to be wary about buying, or even renting, a movie that never hits theatres in any sort of a real release but with Poor Boy’s Game I don’t think there’s any real risk involved. If you like dramas mixed with a good bit of tension, you should be good to go.

RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:
Movie: A-
DVD: C

- Landen Chase Pelish
Staff Writer