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Yari Film Group
would like you to think that Resurrecting the Champ is a
genuine, heartwarming Underdog Story. To a certain extent, it
is, but not in the way that the studio may lead you to believe.
Watching the previews for the film, a prospective ticket-buyer
gathers that Resurrecting the Champ is about a sports
reporter (Josh Hartnett) who finds himself writing a piece on a
homeless ex-heavyweight-champion boxer who calls himself Champ
(Samuel L. Jackson). Their representation of background-story
accurate, but from this point of introduction, the
trailer-cutters over Yari at go onto suggest that the movie will
be about the literal resurrection of a champ, as if Jackson’s
old-man of an underdog will go onto regain his past glory and
fight in the ring again. This is as misleading a tactic as
promotional-materials could possibly employ. If you aren’t
familiar with the true story behind the film, you won’t see the
second-act turning-point coming; it is completely glossed-over
by the picture’s trailers. The real underdog in Resurrecting
the Champ is Hartnett’s Erik, a down-on-his-luck Denver
sportswriter who fights two battles of his own: making a name
for himself in selling newspapers and keeping his torn family
together.
Resurrecting
the Champ’s aforementioned “plot twist” is only a twist
because it isn’t mentioned in the film’s promotional materials.
I could divulge it here and now, in this review, and the story’s
conclusion wouldn’t lose any of its punch for readers who later
see the movie. But I’m not going to. Even though I feel that
Yari Film Group was dumb in marketing this as a melodramatic
tearjerker (its opening day box office tally affirms this),
there’s something wonderful about what they have done. In
misleading audiences about the contents of the film, the studio
has given all viewers unfamiliar with the real story a virgin
theatrical experience, so to speak. The majority of filmgoers
who see Resurrecting the Champ will be able to view it
with an unbiased, fresh pair of eyes. To spoil this with my
review—as I’m sure many other critics have with theirs—would be
an act of colossal disloyalty to my readership. The surprising
experience that this film offers is one to be cherished.
What I can say
about the movie without spoiling it is that the acting it
showcases is phenomenal. In the role of Erik, Hartnett captures
a level of intensity that perfectly conveys the film’s themes
about journalistic responsibility. Harnett has gotten somewhat
of a bad rap in the critical community due to his participation
in several tasteless films (40 Days and 40 Nights,
anyone?), but his work here shows that it’s about time to
forgive him for his past misdoings. He’s terrific in
Resurrecting the Champ. Alongside Harnett as the homeless
boxer Champ, Jackson disappears into his role through both a
profound physical transformation and an embrace of a kind of
sweaty, rhythmic vernacular. The only reason that this role
isn’t inviting comparisons to Charlize Theron’s provocative turn
in Monster is because Champ isn’t a controversial
character like Theron’s Ailen Wuornos. However, it should be
duly noted Jackson disappears into Champ just as much as Theron
did into Wuornos. If Resurrecting the Champ miraculously
finds an audience, the actor’s work should have a strong
following. This is unlikely, though. Thanks to the wonders of
poor marketing, this film will unfortunately fade into infinity,
filmgoers still assuming that it was Just Another Sports Drama.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 8.25.2007
Screened on:
8.24.2007 at the UltraStar Flower Hill 4 in Del Mar, CA.
Resurrecting the Champ is rated PG-13
and runs 111 minutes.
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