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Review

Caine gives a searing performance in this tense, terse but ultimately downbeat drama. A two-bit boxing promoter (Caine) gets his one last shot at the big time when his son is matched against a rival American promoter's (Landau) best boxer. When things go awry, Caine goes on a rampage, not willing to rest until he's had his revenge. Intriguing, at times great, Shiner is undone a bit by its extremely depressing wrap-up -- and while it can be argued that the ending is inevitable, it still doesn't cast much more light on character than we've already seen. Still, Caine is so good -- and is matched, in a much smaller role, by the equally slimy Landau -- that any quibbles with the script don't matter much in the end. He's consistently fascinating to watch, and makes Shiner compelling viewing.

 -- Dean C. Galanis