The Last Fight (1983) User Reviews (2)

"The Last Fight" is an interesting and worthwhile boxing/gangster film

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 11 June 2010]

"The Last Fight" is an interesting and worthwhile boxing/gangster film written and directed by, and starring, fan-favorite Fred Williamson.

Andy "Kid Clave" Perez is a good-natured boxer and singer, but unfortunately also a "bad gambler" that owes gangster Joaquin Vargas (Colon) a lot of money. Vargas offers a "deal" to take fifty percent of Andy's action in the fight game. Sadly, this affects Andy's beloved elderly manager, Papa. When some of Vargas' overzealous goons start interfering with people in Andy's inner circle (trying to carefully sidestep spoilers here), Fred Williamson steps in, reprising his role (from 1976's Death Journey and No Way Back as Jesse Crowder, A private detective and ex-cop. Will Crowder get answers? Will Kid Clave get his title shot? Or will outside circumstances prevent him from achieving his dream? One of the interesting things about "The Last Fight" are the appearances by real people. While a fictional film and not a documentary, it features real-life boxers Jose "Chegui" Torres and Salvador Sanchez, and boxing people Bert Sugarman and Don Dunphy, not to mention...wait for it...DON KING! AS HIMSELF! ACTING! INVOLVED IN THE PLOT! IT'S CRAZY, MAN! Actually, it's not that crazy, but it's certainly not boring to watch. Real-life musical collaborators Blades and Colon are also front and center as the troubled boxer/singer and the hirsute gangster (when he wears sunglasses, you really cannot see his face), respectively. Also speaking of real-life aspects, the NYC locations, especially the Times Square of the early eighties provide some good grit that enliven the proceedings.

Besides Williamson, another one of my favorite actors is on hand, for one scene: the great Joe Spinell plays the gangster Colon answers to. The role isn't too dissimilar from the one he plays in that other boxing movie, Rocky (1976).

As far as criticisms go, I would have liked to see more Spinell, but maybe that's just me. Also there is a certain lack of originality, but that's okay because who really cares about that anyway? There are some stodgy acting moments, which is more than forgivable because not only is that common and par for the course with low budget/independent films, but a lot of people involved are non-actors. But there is also some bad "boxing-acting". By that I mean some pretty silly feigned punches and dodges. Weirdly, in the end credits, Darlanne Fluegel is simply "Darlanne". I don't know if whoever typed the credits was afraid of spelling her last name wrong, or trying to launch her like "Madonna" or "Cher", but her last name is missing.

Williamson steals the show as Crowder, giving himself pretty much all the best lines in the movie. It is always a joy to watch him. I wish I was as cool as Fred Williamson.

I would describe "The Last Fight" as a curio that fans of boxing/boxing films should definitely see, and if you are an 80's/Fred Williamson/Joe Spinell/drive-in-style film fan such as myself, you should definitely check out "The Last Fight", released on VHS in the U.S. by Thorn-EMI.

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Minor boxing picture showcases talent from the Salsa music biz

[lor_ · 29 January 2023]

My review was written in August 1983 after a Times Square screening.

"The Last Fight" is a low-budge boxing picture that showcases Panamanian-born Salsa recording star Ruben Blades as a singer-turned-fighter. After working with several of the same crew members and cast as exec producer of "Vigilante", Fania Records owne Jerry Masucci has conceived and produced an unexciting little film, which will have its greatest apeal to music fans rather than the action-pic trade.

Blades, who projects a handsome and empathetic screen presence resembling a Latino Bobby Darin, portrays Andy "Kid" Clave, a successful recording star aiming at the junior lightweight boxing title. Prone to running up big gambling debts, he is strong-armed into boxing for New York City nightclub owner Joaquin Vargas (Willie Colon), who provides Clave with the services of his girl friend Sally (Darlene Fluegel) as part of the deal.

Taking a nod from the films noirs of he 1940s, writer-director Fred Williamson has created a doomed atmosphere for the lead players, including Clave's pretty girl friend Nancy (Nereida Mercado), leading up to Clave risking his life (blood clo on his brain from a bar accident) in a title bout. Williamson, however, portrays his familiar "Dirty Harry"-like screen persona, ex-cop Jesse Crowder (seen in seveal earlier films such as "No Way Back"), so there's no quesiion of him surviving to return another day. As an actor, his smooh manner, tongue-in-cheek dialog and action ability brighten up the film.

Picture is dedicated to the late featherweight champion Salvador Sanchez (killed in an auto accident shortly after lensing wrapped in early 1982), who knocks the daylights out of Clave in the title bout. Promoter Don King is fun in a cameo role, but most of the cast (particularly the female leads) is under-directed by Williamson in his seventh outing as a feature helmer. Boxing footage is lensed from cameras outside the ring and overall the film remains too static (and with too many closeups) to energize action fans.

Biggest disappointment of "The Last Fight" is the absence of a positive role model for the Hispanic audience. In films of late, Puerto Ricans and Chicanos have become the stock baddies, with Willie Colon again a hissable villain as in "Vigilante". The musical talent, as evidenced here by Blades' pleasant vocals, needs to be harnessed with an upbeat story, not the flawed, doomed fighter saga conveyed in this picture.