Aaron Spelling may be slapping his forehead, but a few cemetary plots over, 1950's melodrama king Douglas Sirk is smiling.
Comment
02/01/09
Shadowboxer (2006)
20
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:56
Fresh:11
Rotten:45
Average Rating:4/10
Consensus: With random characters and a preposterous plot, this bizarre thriller might leave you with your mouth hanging open in disbelief.
Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Hardboiled and at times incongruous, Lee Daniels's (MONSTER'S BALL) directorial debut sets out to smash stereotypes with a noirish crime thriller about loyalty, loss, love, and guilt. Cuba Gooding... [More]
Starring: Cuba Gooding, Helen Mirren, Vanessa Ferlito, Macy Gray
Director: Lee Daniels
Reviews for Shadowboxer
The raw materials for a gutsy, gritty, fearless, fascinating thriller are here, but they amount to some intriguing individual parts and not a satisfying, cohesive whole.
08/26/07
This cat-and-mouse caper's Swiss cheese plotline is riddled with too many holes to consider this flick as much more than a snuff film.
07/14/07
Despite assembling a talented cast and crew, Daniels is stymied here by a script that takes itself far too seriously.
03/01/07
That most wonderful of films, the kind that works on every level, but can't be easily pigeonholed.
12/30/06
Mirren and Gooding are interesting -- and sexy -- to watch together. Once she leaves the film, the picture loses a bit of its uniqueness.
12/30/06
The script can't quite get a grasp on character depth, yet it also can't quite deliver the cheap thrills such a trashy tale might otherwise provide.
11/04/06
"Shadowboxer" is supposed to be concerned with how parents' lifestyles can be passed down to their children, but that is too simplistic here. The film, instead, is more a showcase of naked bodies, gory scenarios and over-the-top performances.
09/02/06
Thumbs down to a movie of such vile and violent temper.
08/25/06
It's all so cliched in terms of personalities and full of such unbelievable situations that it's often downright laughable. And not in a good way.
08/25/06
Gosh, it's almost too bad/good to be true.
08/25/06
Click to read the article
08/19/06
There's no glee here, just a handful of glum characters stuck in an unending cycle of sex, violence, and heavy-handed preaching.
08/19/06
The one thing I'll say about Shadowboxer is that it's never boring. Of course, I could also say that about stepping on crushed glass.
08/07/06
Much of the movie is just too unintentionally goofy to take at face value
08/06/06
The title [is] an apt metaphor for the movie, which ultimately bobs and weaves a lot but ends up all empty air.
08/05/06
Daniels know his way around making the viewer uncomfortable, but there's a fine line between genuine, pants-tickling eroticism and 'I can't believe I'm watching this surrounded by strangers' soft-core porn.
08/04/06
The casting seems to be an attempt to manufacture interesting characters, instead of depending on the script to do that.
08/04/06
Should you go? Not in public. But with a group of like-minded friends and the DVD, there might be circumstances under which you'd find it hilarious.
08/04/06
It ... has an insistently fussy and grandiose production design that mistakes lavish textures, brilliant colors and exotic backdrops for story atmosphere and style.
08/04/06
Latest News for Shadowboxer
July 20, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Lady" Is All Wet; "Ex" Is Not Super; "House" Is Scary, "Clerks" Is Funny
This week we've got some magic in ordinary dwellings (M. Night Shyamalan's "Lady in the Water" and "Monster House") and some funny couples ("My Super... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
RT on YouTube 
Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.
RT on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.
IGN RSS Feeds