Somewhat entertaining, but riddled with clichés

Rating: 1/10 (19 October 2015)

Maquire plays Fischer, the chess prodigy from Brooklyn in a run of the mil drama about a man's attempt to become world champion in his craft.
The structure of the film is one we have already seen a thousand times, from the Rocky movies to more contemporary films like the Great Debaters. In those films, the hero is an underdog whereas in this one, Fischer clearly is not, although one could consider him as such given his mental instability.
With little surprises as the film progresses, the audience is treated to the idiosyncrasy and paranoia of Fischer which seemed in the end to be neither here nor there. Yet, with decent acting from just about every one involved, the movie still manages to entertain as it builds up to the famous 1972 confrontation between Fischer and Spassky as the latter defends his world championship title.
6/10