Expected more

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The story line advanced here on IMDb for this picture states that "The Bronx Bull" chronicles his (Jake LaMotta) rise as a world class boxer and his struggles with life outside the ring. That would only be half right, LaMotta's rise as a world class boxer isn't touched on at all in this largely disjointed film about the former Middleweight Champion. That job is handled a lot better in Martin Scorsese's 1980 epic film "Raging Bull". Undoubtedly the 'Bull' connotation in the title is utilized to draw an audience for this film, but if you're like me, you'll be left unrewarded for the effort of tuning in to the picture.It starts out interestingly enough, with LaMotta (William Forsythe) testifying before a Congressional Committee investigating the influence of organized crime in boxing, but aside from that brief scene, nothing ever comes of it. That right there would probably be a topic worthwhile enough to devote an entire picture to. Instead, the story takes a twenty year flashback to LaMotta's troubled youth, and a father (Paul Sorvino) who abused his son both physically and emotionally in order to experience some vicarious pleasure in seeing him beat people up.From there on, the story moves forward in time through some of LaMotta's failed marriages and a dysfunctional relationship with childhood friend Rick Rosselli (Joe Mantegna), who's career high point seems to have taken him to making porno flicks. I have to say, as bad as this flick was, I'm intrigued enough to go out and get my hands on a copy of "Cauliflower Cupids" that was teased in this picture. It scores lower than "The Bronx Bull" by IMDb viewers, but it's got the real life Jake LaMotta in it, along with Sugar Ray Robinson, Willie Pep, and Tony Zale, with Jane Russell at the top of the bill. I say it's worth a look.Well there's not much to recommend here, the story plays like a poorly written soap opera despite the caliber of some of the principal players. William Forsythe in particular does a fine job in portraying the title character, it's just that there's not much here to work with. Perhaps the biggest shocker for this viewer occurred when I went to look up the stats on Jake LaMotta himself here on IMDb, and discovered that the former boxer is still alive at ninety six years old as I write this! That's a knockout punch I didn't see coming.Addendum**** It's just two days since I posted this review, and learned this morning that Jake LaMotta passed away yesterday, 9/19/2017. Another knockout punch no one saw coming. Rest in peace, Jake LaMotta.

The Bronx Bull (2016) *** (out of 4) When this film was originally announced the producers decided to call it RAGING BULL II so that it would stir up a media storm, which it did. This also gave the film a lot of negative press from people screaming that Martin Scorsese's masterpiece didn't need a sequel. Well, THE BRONX BULL eventually got made and released and there's no doubt that one could consider it a direct sequel. The film takes place as Jake LaMotta (William Forsythe) has retired from boxing and we see his many lows that would haunt him.THE BRONX BULL very well could have been called RAGING BULL II. Is this a masterpiece like the Scorsese film? Not even close. If you go into this expecting the same type of picture then you're bound to be disappointed. I really wasn't sure what to expect from the film and at first I was a little nervous but I must admit that I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. Yes, there are many flaws throughout the picture but at the same time we've got a terrific cast of characters and the film also catches us up on what happened to LaMotta after the ring (a subject just briefly touched upon in RAGING BULL).What I was most impressed with were the performances. I thought Forsythe was extremely good in the role of LaMotta and you can't help but be impressed because you really do feel as if you're watching a man who has lost his soul. I really thought the actor did a very good job at showing how hot-headed this guy was and how he could just snap in an instant. We've got a lot of famous faces in nice supporting roles including Paul Sorvino who plays LaMotta's father, Joe Mantegna as the best friend and we get the likes of Tom Sizemore, Natasha Henstridge, Penelope Ann Miller, James Russo, Bruce Davidson, Cloris Leachman, Robert Davi and Mike Starr.As I said, there are quite a few flaws including the story. The film jumps around through several decades and captures different moments in LaMotta's life after the ring but on the whole it's a bit uneven. I'd argue that the direction wasn't the greatest either but it was at least good enough to make sure everything held your attention. The film was obviously shot on a low-budget, which is clearly seen when they try to re-create some of the older times. Still, with all of that said, if you're interested in the LaMotta character then this film should keep you entertained. Just don't go in expecting something that it isn't.

I watched this movie that had some fairly well known actors in it and you would think it was their first role, the acting was so awful and wooden it beggars belief, the directing and producing was also equally awful, this had the potential to be so much better and it fails on every front, the story is all over the place, it jumps from one gap in Lamotta's life to another without bringing any of the parts to a meaningful conclusion, in the end you just give up with trying to follow it and feel like one of Lamotta's opponents, thoroughly demoralized and beaten.2 out of 10, don't bother watching, Go and re-watch De niro's raging bull

The timeline is all over the place giving extremely vague details about what happened between the his boxing career. Very depressing, which is fine. Yet, with exceedingly poor attempts to be uplifting. This movie is more about making the audience pity a washed up drunk who doesn't turn his life around until his late 50's and still this film fails to tell that story. The courtroom scene leads you to believe it's a story about a boxer who got mixed up with the mafia, but then never really delves back into that plot. This is the most poorly told biography I've ever seen in film, it was trying to reach a multitude of platforms to express the life of an ex Middle Weight Champion and utterly disappoints on every one of those fronts. Spare yourself of this 94 minute waste of time, 94 minutes I wish I could have back.