Masaharu Take¡¯s ¡°Underdog¡± is a boxing film turned epic. Presented in two parts, it runs for 276 minutes, not long compared with legendary cinematic marathons such as Andy Warhol¡¯s fittingly titled ¡°Sleep¡± (321 min.) or Abel Gance¡¯s monumental ¡°Napoleon¡± (330 min.), but a test of endurance nonetheless.
And it¡¯s worth it, though in the second half the story tilts toward the melodramatic as it moves inexorably and rather predictably to a climatic bout between two of the principal characters.
The original script is by Shin Adachi, who collaborated with Take on another boxing film ¡ª 2014¡¯s ¡°100 Yen Love,¡± in which Sakura Ando plays a slacker-turned-boxer. Ando and Adachi both won Japan Academy awards in the end: she for best actress, he for best script.
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