Ok, let's face it, there is only so much you can do with a championship boxing movie. To be honest the story is very unlikely.
However, this one has something special. The 90 minutes flew past very quickly for me which is my proof that I enjoyed it. The acting was superb, the fight scenes were reasonable and the story, although far from reality drew me in and had me routing for the main character. Although Kent Moran doesn't look like he has ever truly fought in a ring he played the title role really well and was very likeable. Michael Clarke Duncan played the supporting role equally well and was very believable as the trainer.
It was refreshing to see a boxing movie without any romantic complications blurring the story. Yes, it was the rise of the underdog as most of them are. And yes, there were plenty of touching family moments but no love interests.
Another thing I liked was that the opponents were not painted as the bad guys like in so many other movies.
Anyway, I watch a lot of boxing movies and this is definitely worth watching. 7/10
Review of The Challenger
