WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

rwhite26 I kinda enjoyed this film. I didn't know anything about Sonny Listen so after watching this film, it shinned a little light on him for me. I know the Clay/Ali fight was a major event in his life but the film played it as just another fight. I would of liked to see the build up to that fight, and the aftermath. The movie never mentioned how Clay was harassing him and how he felt about it. Nothing about him shooting blanks at Clay in a Casino. I also didn't understand why he would cheat against Clay when there was no history of cheating before that fight. The film was titled Phantom Punch but he doesn't admit to taking a dive. (Hummm) I did enjoy Stacy Dash in her role. I loved the period piece. Costumes etc.. I liked the possible motive for his death. I enjoyed it but I think I just wanted more on the rise and fall of SL.

BronzeKeilani26 This film isn't just swagger, or an imitation of Sonny Liston. This is a deep, sensitive, poignant, and romantic story about one of the greatest public figures of the twentieth century. A conglomerate of great acting, great direction, and a great story that needed to be told. When I was young I use to hear Patterson and Sonny Liston's name all the way till I became an adult. Yet I never knew who they were outside of being famous boxers back in the day. This film is socially important because it raises up one of the most notable and under-appreciated figures of the twentieth century, Sonny Liston. His fights with Patterson is also in the film so I learned a lot here. The fights are not rocky-type or "entertaining" but REAL. Never long and drawn out but super exciting for someone not into boxing, like me. My mother & I really got into this movie than researched after, and boy were the males in out family surprised. They didn't show a younger Liston but instead had Ving play the entire role from his discovery by the Catholic priest in prison to Liston's champ days, and finally his passing. Sadly, fate forced him to have ties to the mob. It was boxing or a life in prison. And a lot of shady people were attached to boxing back than. Some just weren't so lucky. Surprisingly, the movie was so good & went by so fast, no one even noticed. But I am so glad I didn't pay attention to any neg reviews in here! This movie gives us all an important lesson. That we can be anything we want! This certainly is a movie worth seeing.

filmlover333 Phantom Punch is directed by Robert Townsend and written by Ryan Combs. It traces the life and times of Sonny Liston, the World heavyweight boxing champion who over his career fought the likes of Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson. Townsend biopic traces Liston's career from 1950 to his death in 1971.Ving Rhames, is perfectly cast as Charles L 'Sonny' Liston. Rhames gives a stellar performance depicting the boxer's tumultuous life, where dealing with the rampant racism of the day, the heavy hand of the mob, and the heavier hand of the law was part and parcel of the job. And touches on the controversy surrounding his mysterious death.

dbborroughs Ving Rhames turns in another stellar performance as Sonny Liston in Robert Townsend's film of Liston's rise and fall. Liston was an ex-con who rose through the ranks of professional boxing to take on Cassius Clay before he was felled by a "phantom punch" and his own demons. Rhames is truly amazing as Liston and you feel for him. Unfortunately the rest of the film is nowhere near his level with some bad performances, a weak script with awful dialog and a directorial style that makes this tough going. If it wasn't for Rhames performance I would day that the film isn't worth bothering with, but he's so good that he really should be seen if this comes across your TV screen on cable