Max Schmeling (5 Stars)

I approached this film with some doubts. It's been less than 10 years since a film was made about the life of Max Schmeling, the excellent 2002 film "Joe and Max". A further reason to doubt is that the title role is played by Henry Maske, who has never acted before. I needn't have worried. From the opening scenes on I was drawn in by the quality of the acting and the film itself.

The original German film is subtitled "A German legend". The English release is subtitled "Fist of the Reich" and the DVD cover has a picture that has nothing at all to do with the film. Forget the senseless marketing attempts by idiots in England who probably never even watched the film before mass-producing it. This is not a war film, it's a film about a German boxer who was unfortunate enough to live during the war. Max wasn't really pro or anti Nazi, despite attempts to portray him as an opponent of Hitler. In truth he was just a boxer who loved his sport and wanted to win without interference from politicians.

The best way to describe "Max Schmeling" is to say how it differs from "Joe and Max". While both films portray the life of Max Schmeling as the central character, "Joe and Max" concentrates on the deep personal friendship between Max and Joe Louis which started with their first fight and continued until Joe's death 45 years later. "Joe and Max" develops the character of Joe Louis, whereas "Max Schmeling" just shows him as a tough opponent. "Joe and Max" shows Max's life from his first fight against Joe Louis till he met with Joe the first time after the war; "Max Schmeling" ends with Max's last fight and doesn't show his new job as the Coca Cola representative in Germany.

The fights are better choreographed in this film, but that was to be expected. Gentleman Henry Maske is a boxer, not an actor. And yet he succeeds admirably as an actor. At several points I had to chuckle because he both looks and sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is a first class biographical film, showing Schmeling's rise and fall. The viewer is involved from the beginning, cheering when he succeeds and sharing his tears when he fails. More than "Rocky" ever was, this is a film with heart and emotion. A film to watch even if you aren't a boxing fan.