Float Like A Butterfly, Sting Like "...The Champ."

Resurrecting The Champ
Directed by Rod Lurie
Starring Josh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson
Yari Film Group
PG-13

Legend Vs. Reality.

I've never been a "huge" fan of the boxing films. I think Rocky was a well-told story, but transforming it into a franchise was the mistake of Stallone's career, or was it Demolition Man? I admired Raging Bull for its ruthless and unforgiving shooting style - the subject matter and nature of the Marciano character, not so much. Ali was not made for my generation, but it further solidified Will Smith's range and impressed me. I appreciated Cinderella Man because it was a period piece and reflected well for the time. All of these pictures provide a beautiful backdrop of the sport, but focus entirely on elements other than knockouts and concussions. Resurrecting The Champ shares the same sentiment.



I remember the days when Hartnett graced the covers of Teen Beat Magazine and every girl in your high school homeroom had a picture of him in their locker or on their notebooks. I bet they thought he'd keep doing films like The Faculty and Halloween: 20 Years Later. Thank the celluloid Gods they were wrong. He's cranking out performance after performance superbly with pictures like Lucky # Slevin and Wicker Park.

And Samuel L. Jackson has finally been given the opportunity to trade in his lightsaber for a pair of boxing gloves. No longer will the social stigma of his appearance in the Star Wars films as Mace Windu disrupt his ascension into the acting greats.

Kathryn Morris, Alan Alda and even a small cameo by Peter Coyote round out an extraordinary cast, each adding a layer to the mix of Erik Kernan's (Hartnett) predicament. Fathers and Sons: this film shows you what a father would do to gain the admiration of his son, not the other way around, which makes this the diamond in the rough of the year. I could taste an Oscar nod for Samuel L. Jackson in between sips of my diet soda.

"A writer, like a boxer, must stand alone. The truth is revealed, and there's nowhere to hide."

Resurrecting The Champ hits video shelves on April 8th.