I wanted to like this film and was hopeful it would turn out to be another Fat City. However, it is really nothing special. Little real character development. You can't relate to the main charcater because you have very little to go by. The majority of the film is the star looking glum, walking around the streets at night and training in the gym. Honestly, I couldn't of cared less if he wins his fight or not. The acting is good; but it is basically the same thing over and over. Better off watching Fat City as Stacy Keach as a washed up fighter making a comeback is ten times better then Jawbone.

Manny's Movie Musings: "Jawbone" is about a homeless, alcoholic ex-boxer (played by Johnny Harris, who also wrote the script) who seeks to get his life in order with the help of two friends (played by Ray Winstone and Michael Smiley) who run a boxing gym that Harris is secretly crashing in every night. Out of cash and without a job, Harris seeks an underground, boxing match with a younger, stronger fighter. A creepy gangster played by Ian McShane sets up the fight, and Harris will have to struggle with and suppress all his demons so that he can be in the best shape possible and give the crowd their money's worth…and come out of the fight alive. "Jawbone" is a raw, dark (literally and figuratively) story of one man's battle against his own, self-destructive nature. My most memorable, movie moment is the scene when Harris holds a bottle of liquor, staring at it, contemplating whether to drink it or not. Harris' eyes, his facial expressions…all show the torment in his soul fighting against his addiction.Mannysmemorablemoviemoments

A former boxer with promise returns to his old stomping ground on the mean streets of London hoping for one last chance of success Stop me if you've heard this one before but .... what you stopped me as soon as I came to this page? Fair enough. JAWBONE is a traditional type of gritty drama of a washed out boxer trying to get his life back on track. If you're expecting the big budget feel good Hollywood factor try somewhere else because this is a gloomy British movie Actually this is maybe a little bit too gloomy. It's got that British independent feel. It's well made where the social realism shines through but it's not a film where you walk out of the cinema clicking your heels. On top of that unlike a lot of boxing films you've seen from ROCKY to RAGING BULL director Thomas Napper ensures that if you're hit with a high velocity fist then it will hurt and cut you One minor complaint is that some people be fooled in to watching a film starring Winstone and McShane and there can't be a single movie in Britain who doesn't love these two legends but the reality is their parts are minor with McShane literally appearing in one walk on scene . Instead it's Johnny Harris as boxer Jimmy and Michael Smiley who carry the film. Smiley in particular is very good but the story is one you've seen before

I really liked this UK movie about an alcoholic boxer who is down on his luck and is given a chance at redemption. Okay, not an original movie but certainly one where you care about the main character Jimmy. It could have been better, as it was slow in parts, but the last fifteen minutes are the best boxing moments I have seen in a movie. I was screaming at the screen for Jimmy (Johnny Harris, brilliantly played) and for him to recover from his pugilistic pummeling. Director Thomas Napper has done a great job, though he could have ramped up the tension if he's tried a little harder. Ian McShane and Ray winstone were only there to entice viewers to watch it and did very little for the film. But, nevertheless, I totally recommend this movie. I want to see more from Napper in the future.