Great Sports Drama

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2005)

This is an excellent, nicely acted sports drama meant to evoke emotions and I gave it a strong 8 rating (maybe an 8.75). It was a interesting and seemingly realistic glimpse into the boxing world, but the movie had far more to show about the great characters having heart, seeking redemption, having guts, achieving goals/dreams, being selfish, and being selfless. I was particularly impressed by Morgan Freeman's performance and voice-over narration reminiscent of his great work in Shawshank Redemption. It could have been just a remake of The Next Karate Kid, but in the third act, the movie takes an unexpected departure from the Hollywood movie formula, which made me admire this film even more. That is the extent of the "spoiler". Suffice it to say that it made a deeper impression on me about the nature of goals.