george.schmidt Review of Resurrecting the Champ

Resurrecting the Champ (2007)

Jackson delivers a knock out performance in an otherwise melodramatic muddle

[7/10 · 27 August 2007]

RESURRECTING THE CHAMP (2007) **1/2 Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Kathryn Morris, Dakota Goyo, Alan Alda, Rachel Nichols, Teri Hatcher, David Paymer, Harry J. Lennix, Peter Coyote. Muddled melodramatic adaptation of J.R. Moehringer's LA Times Magazine article about a down-and-out homeless man whose claim to be a former professional boxer (Jackson in a terrific performance) has ramifications for the young, determined writer (a miscast Hartnett) whose dream of hitting the big-time with an exclusive story gets lost in the shuffle of what could've been a fine film but filmmaker Rod Lurie fictionalizes a father-son paradigm that is a strain on an otherwise noble attempt.