I'm a big fan of actor/writer/comedian John Leguizamo. His stand-up comedy always keeps me in stitches, and he's a much stronger dramatic performer than he is given credit for. Fair enough, The Pest was a smoldering pantload and virtually anyone would not come off well if they found themselves stuck in Super Mario Brothers or Spawn. Yet he's done fine work in Summer of Sam, Carlito's Way, Romeo and Juliet, and was one of the few positive elements I could stomach throughout the vile Moulin Rouge .

In Undefeated , Leguizamo gets to exercise his talents as not only a dramatic performer but also as a director (he also has a story credit on the film.) The HBO telefilm deals with the story of Lex Vargas, an up-and-coming boxer whose dreams involve glory in the ring as well eventually escaping the everyday confines of his Queens neighborhood. He works in a local grocery run by his older brother Chewey (Adrian Martinez), who warns the young fighter that people only pay Latinos to "watch them beat the crap out of each other." Tragedy strikes early on in the film when Chewey is shot and killed during an attempted robbery. Devastated by the loss, Lex suddenly finds himself unencumbered by what has always been his moral foundation. Encouraged by his boyhood friend and manager Loco (Clifton Collins Jr.), he begins training and earnest and soon finds himself at the top of his game. The accoutrements soon follow: he's making copious amounts of dough, lives in a big beautiful house, walks around with an entourage, and wins the affections of the smokingly-fine Lizette (Vanessa Ferlito), seemingly the girl of his dreams. Lex's success seems to have no limit, but in the process he begins to lose everything: his relationship with his buddies, his girlfriend, his self-respect, and even the honor of his brother's memory.

I tried to enjoy Undefeated , but the film suffers terribly due to some rather clunky dialogue and clichéd situations. The cast is uniformly solid: Leguizamo does give a fine performance, and I was especially impressed by the work of Clifton Collins Jr. and Vanessa Ferlito. The fact that Ms. Ferlito spends a good deal of the film topless was not lost upon this reviewer. Leguizamo's direction, in comparison, seemed slightly lacking and uneven. The film generally felt somewhat flat and lifeless -- even the boxing scenes seemed unconvincing. What we are left with is an earnestly acted but unfortunately weak and predictable film that, in the end, treads no new ground or provides any genuine insight or truly developed characters. Disappointing.

The DVD

Video:

Undefeatedis presented in a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and has been anamorphically enhanced for your widescreen-viewing hipness. This is a smart looking transfer. Image detail is sharp and well-defined. Colors are rich and sufficiently deep and varied, with excellent blacks and spot-on contrasts. There's a slight lack of shadow delineation that make some of the darker scenes seem a little weaker in comparison. The transfer is reasonably clean, with nary any print wear, noise, or compression artifacts to be found. I noticed some edge-enhancement but nothing overly detrimental.

Audio: