Couldn't Carry Rocky's Jock Strap

Rating: 5/10 (25 December 2011)

Come on now. I was super excited to see this movie after all the glowing reviews. Let me check that. Unrealistic, false left-right paradigm, superficial emotions, contrived story, the one brother is vilified while the other is made a hero. Super predictable, no training sequences, cheesy Joe Rogan wanna be announcers, and average acting by the supporting cast.
While Rocky was about an average man overcoming great odds with sheer determination who fought for glory there is nothing average about this crappy, super far fetched storyline. One brother, who is fighting under his deceased Mom's maiden name, is bitter who hates everybody and is so mean to his Dad that it causes him to break his sobriety of 3 years. Apparently his only friend in the core was killed in a friendly fire bombing (where he was the only one who lived) and he promised the purse money of the tournament his fallen comrades wife. However, she sells him out to the media who discover his real identity and then he faces a court martial after the tournament because he went AWOL after his friend died. Oh, did I mention on his way out of Iraq (apparently on foot) he walks into a battle, saves a life and becomes a war hero?
The other brother is loved by everyone, especially all the 25 year old actors playing high school students where he teaches physics to cheer leaders. He is underwater on his house because his one of his daughters has a heart condition and needs the money to pay off the bills. (Not really sure what his wife did for a living.)
Of course, the brothers relationship is estranged because of complications of their mothers death. The two meet in the finals after the marine brother wins 3 straight fights by 10 second knockouts. The other brother, who is always the underdog, pulls off submission upset after upset. Geez, I wonder who is going to win in the finals?
Yawn. If this was supposed to be good, this is just another reason why I barely waster my time watching movies. It's fodder for the uniformed, discerning, zombie masses.