My biggest criticism - and this is a pretty big flaw - is that Undisputed lacks character, in both the literal and figurative senses of the word. We're clearly meant to sympathize with Monroe Hutchens (Wesley Snipes, apparently undergoing career rehabilitation this year after a fallow period), the prison-bound champion of convict bouts who was an up-and-comer in the outside world until he was cuckolded and lost his temper. He's matched against George "Iceman" Chambers (the terrific Ving Rhames), a cocky Mike Tyson type who's thrown in prison on rape charges that he believes are a bum rap. Chambers' accuser is only seen mouthing her complaints in excerpts from TV-news broadcasts, a strategy that I thought at first was meant to cast doubt on her allegations. In the end, though, the film takes her side - Chambers is so full of himself, so eager to assert his privilege, that you know he doesn't understand any part of "No."

But that character sketch is all you really get about these two men. Despite solid performances in both corners, they feel manufactured solely to square off against each other at the end of their movie. As the third corner of the star triangle, Peter Falk is amusing enough as an old-timer with mob connections who sets up the bout as an underground prize match, but you'd never mistake his wheezy caricature for an actual human being.

If screenwriters Hill and David Giler had managed to give any of the pre-prizefight confrontations between Snipes and Rhames a spontaneous kick, it would have gone a long way toward giving viewers an investment in the outcome of their ultimate bout. As it stands, there's not much in the dialogue to distinguish these guys from any number of allegedly rough-and-tumble characters we've seen at the movies and on pay cable over the last 20 years.

What feels right is the down-to-business directorial tack, which improves considerably on Last Man Standing, the last Hill film I bothered to see - and a strikingly boring movie. This time, he favors a style that verges on chaos, with various fight scenes shot in close-up and quick cuts. Exciting enough when it needs to be and unobtrusive when things quiet down, this conservative strategy serves the film well. (Cameos by an amiable Ed Lover as the ring announcer and by gangsta kingpin Master P and his bandmates are obvious bids for street cred.) Mostly, Hill delivers the goods. What's most frustrating is that Undisputed isn't just a little bit better than it already is, which is pretty darned good. There are no surprises, no little flourishes to take you aback or put a smile on your face - but this is solid, propulsive entertainment from start to finish. Not bad for the back end of summer.