Movie Review: ‘Bang Bang’ Second Review

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Review by James Lindorf

As we watch Mike Tyson gear up to get back into the ring a few months shy of his 60th birthday, we are reminded that retirement isn’t always graceful for pugilists, no matter how famous. They all either seem to fade into obscurity or cling to their 15 minutes either by continuing to fight or by attaching their name to some product. Will Janowitz’s screenplay illustrates both paths in Vincent Grashaw’s “Bang Bang,” which enters the box office arena on September 12th.

Bernard “Bang Bang” Rozyski (Tim Blake Nelson) was once the Polish Pride of Detroit. Now he is living the Bob Seger song “Old Time Rock & Roll” while he drives around in the old rocker’s car, reminiscing about days gone by and past glory. Bang lives alone in a home that looks days away from being condemned, eating ketchup sandwiches and nursing a 40-year-old grudge against former boxer and Detroit’s Mayoral candidate Darnell Washington (Glenn Plummer). His days of angry isolation are interrupted by the reappearance of his estranged daughter, Jen (Nina Arianda). She needs his help looking after her son, Justin (Andrew Liner), while she travels for work. Justin is unable to leave the city while he completes his community service punishment for fighting at school. Inspired by the news with visions of glory and revenge dancing in his eyes, Bang decides to try his hand at training Justin to be a fighter. Friends, former trainer John (Kevin Corrigan), even Sharon (Erica Gimpel), an off-and-on ex-girlfriend who has been around since his meteoric rise and the start of his rivalry with Darnell, her cousin, question Bang’s motivations.

Tim Blake Nelson made his debut in 1992. Over the next three decades, he has delivered reliable character actor work in respected and beloved films. The Coen brothers finally elevated him for “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” and he led the highly underrated “The True Don Quixote” in 2018, but the leading man spotlight remains elusive. Director Vincent Grashaw gave him that chance here, and Nelson delivers on all accounts. Bang is a complex character who can be equally endearing and infuriating. Stuck in the past and formed by trauma, Bang struggles to move forward, no matter how much it hurts him and those around him. Luckily for him, the former fighter is used to pain.

Of the sports that have made the jump from the field to film, none has made that leap more than boxing. The confined space of the ring, the physical one-on-one nature of the combat, and the opportunity to focus on individual struggles make the sport appealing for writers and directors alike. Where “Bang Bang” differs from most films, the struggling titular character is not the one who will be stepping into the ring. Usually, trainers are background characters and occasionally strong supporting characters, but this is the first I know of where they are the focus.

The inventiveness mostly ends there as Janowitz delves more into the cliches of the emotional battles of the genre. Thankfully, they avoid mistakes like making Justin a pure plot device by sidestepping the “I thought I was teaching him, but he was actually teaching me” narrative. Justin is his own struggling character, looking to connect with his grandfather and get control of his rage. The biggest failing of the film is that, despite its 104-minute runtime, multiple plot threads are randomly inserted or dropped completely as we rush to an undeserved finale. Bang doesn’t deserve for things to shake out the way they do, but you can see that there has been growth, and maybe tomorrow will be a better day.

“Bang Bang” scores 2.5 out of 5 for its emotional and thought-provoking narrative, thanks to Janowitz’s pre-planned pillar scenes that support his story. Unfortunately, the surrounding material isn’t of the same quality, pulling the whole film down. While you may not be fully satisfied when the credits roll, the film is buoyed by consistent direction, unflinching cinematography by Pat Aldinger, and a terrific performance by Nelson.

Director: Vincent Grashaw
Producer: Angelia Adzic, Vincent Grashaw, Will Janowitz, Ran Namerode, Cole Payne
Screenwriter: Will Janowitz
Distributor: Sunrise Films
Production Co: Randomix Productions, Traverse Media
Genre: Drama
Release Date (Limited Theatrical) September 12th, 2025
Runtime: 1h 44m