Spoilers? A Sucker Punch to the Heart

Rating: 9/10 (25 June 2006)

Okay, so you're probably thinking the same thing I did. Another boxing movie? We've seen Rocky done to death, and the Champ. What could Ronnie Howard have been thinking choosing this for a subject? No matter how he handled it it had to be bad. To tell the truth, I only watched it (on cable) because I was so bored. Coming so close to Howard losing his mind doing "Da Vinci Crud" and selling himself and his faithful audiences out by turning against Christ, I didn't have high hopes for this film. Especially during the first 1/3 of it when you get your face rubbed into the dirt of the Great Depression over and over. It comes to the brink of being laughable...what else are they going to do to these people to show how desperate they were? Have them start eating each other? But then you see the acting of Russell Crowe when he goes literally begging those who got rich off of him for $16 to keep his children with him and that's it. It's a sucker punch to the heart and you realize you really care about this character.
I'll admit not being the brightest bulb on the tree. It took me a while to realize that this was a true story. Do yourself a favor AFTER watching this movie and Google photos of the real Max Baer and James J. Braddock. Baer was a monster and Braddock looks scrawnier than Crowe. It will give you an extra level of appreciation for the film. I didn't know how the fights would go and highly recommend NOT looking it up until after the movie if you don't know. I actually found myself biting my hand (hey, it's an Italian thing) with excitement during the climactic fight.
Rocky, the Champ, yeah, you've seen it all before. But you owe it to yourself to see this for Crowe's acting performance and some great directing that gives you the feeling of what a monster Baer must have been to go against. You'll thank yourself...When you catch your breath.