Great fight scenes, too many sappy moments

Rating: 6/10 (6 June 2005)

Renee Zellweger almost succeeds in ruining Cinderella Man, the Ron Howardization of former heavyweight champion James J. Braddock's life. Russell Crowe gives a solid performance as the champ, but the script left no room for any blemish on Braddock's character, and the Irish saint thing really begins to wear thin by the third act, as Braddock is practically deified by his adoring Depression-era public. Zellwegger is the worst of the lot, sapping up each scene she's in as Braddock begins his comeback. It seems in the beginning of the film that she has no problem with Braddock's career, but turns on a dime when Jim announces his return to the ring. All the schmaltz aside though, the fight scenes themselves are fantastic. You can tell that Howard really did his homework on the old fight films and got everything down right. These scenes are the soul of the film, but I didn't get any Rocky-like chills due to the pandering nature of the film to tug at your heart strings.