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Resurrecting the Champ is directed by Rod Lurie (The
Last Castle), and stars Samuel L. Jackson (Star Wars Prequel
Trilogy, Snakes on a Plane), Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbor),
Teri Hatcher (Momentum), Kathryn Morris (Paycheck), and
Alan Alda (MASH.) ***
Resurrecting the Champ is a fictional account of a
famed boxer who has gone from title fights in his prime
to life on the streets. A sports journalist sees a potentially-good
story in this old fighter, and sets out to get one. Not
exactly having the best reputation a journalist can, he
aims to use this potential story as a means of winning his
co-workers over once and for all. As the film progresses,
he delves deeper into the life of the aging fighter. ***
This film has its moments of greatness, but they're
just too few and far between. Samuel L. Jackson serves up
an excellent performance, but every other element of the
movie just falls flat. None of the other characters, environments,
or situations feel authentic. Hartnett's stale acting and
lack of range, in particular, keep the experience from getting
off the ground - and considering he gets as much screen
time as Jackson, this really weighs the film down. There
are plenty of quality moments here, but Resurrecting the
Champ falls well short of heavyweight champion territory.
***
Perhaps the biggest mixed bag the film serves up is
its acting. Samuel L. Jackson's performance here is terrific
- one of the few things in this film I had no issues with.
He beautifully paints a picture of a once-great, aging fighter
whose better years are long behind him. The scenes with
Jackson are the best in the film…. ***
….But all of the other performances? That's a different
story entirely. Josh Harnett, who is a talented-enough actor,
gives one of his weakest performances. The guy plays the
role with no emotional range or diversity, and it makes
you wonder if the casting crew would have been better off
handing the role to someone else. ***
The other atmospheres the film paints are ill-conceived
and difficult to swallow. Other performances in the movie
are weak and hard to take seriously, and the environments
of the movie just don't have the authentic feel they should.
How can a movie like this call itself dramatic when it can't
even fully be taken seriously? ***
There are a lot of great boxing movies out there (Rocky
and Raging Bull come to mind), but Resurrecting the Champ
isn't the KO this reviewer was hoping for. Jackson has his
moments here…. But certainly not enough to save the film.
The real-life story of Bob Satterfield himself would have
been a far more interesting movie than this fictional account
that never quite lands its punches. ---
Image And Sound:
For the most part, the transfer here is good. There
aren't a whole lot of visual issues, though there are some
grainy moments, particularly in darker scenes. The audio
quality is fine. All of the dialogue, which is what the
good majority of the movie's sounds are, comes across clearly.
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