Movie Review for Resurrecting the Champ

Summary: Struggling sports reporter Erik Kernan encounters a homeless man who calls himself "Champ" only to determine that he is the one-time boxing champion Battling Bob Satterfield. What begins as a story about resurrecting a once-great man becomes Erik's title shot. In his journey to uncover the truth, Erik has to reexamine his own life and his relationship with his young son.

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Kevin Carr of 7M Pictures (7/0)
            not a big popcorn movie, but it's one not to be missed

By Kam Williams of AALBC.com (7/0)
            Pardon me for being offended when a flick revolving around the question of journalistic ethics ta...

By Rebecca Murray of About.com (7/0)
            An entertaining and intelligent father and son relationship drama

By Brian Webster of Apollo Guide (7/0)
            The highs (Samuel L. Jackson's performance) and lows (Josh Hartnett's performance and the film's ...

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (7/0)
            Ever bobbing and weaving, "Resurrecting the Champ" packs a wallop.

By Christy Lemire of Associated Press (7/0)
            It's actually not as maudlin as it sounds.

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Marjorie Baumgarten of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
            Were it not for the solid cast performances, and in particular the showy Jackson performance as t...

By Michael Sragow of Baltimore Sun (7/0)
            ...Jackson acts with a Hemingway-esque authority. He captures in actor's terms what Hemingway cau...

By Wesley Morris of Boston Globe (7/0)
            ...one-sided Hollywood claptrap about honesty and valor, about how the truth, sigh, can set us fr...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            Jackson disappears into his role, completely convincing, but then he usually is. What a fine acto...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            Jackson disappears into his role, completely convincing, but then he usually is.

By Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            The film is easy to take, though it must be said: It's almost 100 percent blather.

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            The film is easy to take, though it must be said: It's almost 100 percent blather.

By Jules Brenner of Cinema Signals (7/0)
            Lurie, in his return to the big screen after a 5-year TV digression ("Line of Fire" and "Commande...

By Cole Smithey of ColeSmithey.com (7/0)
            Hartnett and Jackson deliver finely tuned performances that bristle with the sting of life lesson...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (7/0)
            As the film descends into its big life-changing final scenes and unresolved family issues, things...

By Edward Douglas of ComingSoon.net (7/0)
            Another strong film from Lurie ... an endearing, crowd-pleasing drama.

By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (7/0)
            This one would have fared better as a boxing movie rather than a sentimental pic about an ethical...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Mario Tarradell of Dallas Morning News (7/0)
            Despite generating plenty of turmoil, Resurrecting the Champ fails to be compelling. It does, how...

By Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News (7/0)
            Jackson's performance helps Resurrecting the Champ make its weight, if only by a couple of pounds...

By Brian Orndorf of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            The anvil-like weight of contrivance nearly sours the quality of the whole film, but there's stil...

By Emanuel Levy of EmanuelLevy.Com (7/0)
            After three disappointing features, Rod Lurie begins to show progress, though he's still unable t...

By Vince Koehler of Entertainment Spectrum (7/0)
            This is the first movie of 2007 to change my way of thinking. It will have you cheering Champ on!

By Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
            ...the gooey sanctity of the bond between fathers and sons all but nullify Jackson's zesty perfor...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (7/0)
            The fact that a film so seemingly middle-of-the-road could, as it turns out, be so thoughtful and...

By Zack Haddad of Film Threat (7/0)
            I believe that this film can breath new life into a genre that has become so obvious over the yea...

By Brent Simon of FilmStew.com (7/0)
            The manner in which the subversion of expectation aids in and deepens one’s appreciation is attri...

By MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher (7/0)
            It's not exactly the stuff that feel-good movies are made of -- it's the stuff that hey-chew-on-t...

By Bill Clark of FromTheBalcony (7/0)
            Those expecting a straight-up boxing drama may be slightly disappointed in Resurrecting the Champ...

By Duane Byrge of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            Samuel L. Jackson knocks out a championship performance in this gritty, uplifting tale about an e...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Stax of IGN Movies (7/0)
            Because it focuses on characters and relationships rather than merely the more sensational aspect...

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            A feel-good wannabe, it tries hard to pull at our heartstrings but consistently falls flat.

By Kevin Williamson of Jam! Movies (7/0)
            If you don't recognize Samuel L. Jackson at first in Resurrecting the Champ, it may be because th...

By Andrea Chase of Killer Movie Reviews (7/0)
            a literate story with more food for thought than competent follow-though

By Beth Accomando of KPBS.org (7/0)
            Lurie's film actually works better as a study of a reporter coping with ambition and ethics as op...

By Robert Wilonsky of L.A. Weekly (7/0)
            ...Resurrecting the Champ is mind-erasingly boring.

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Prairie Miller of Long Island Press (7/0)
            If only the film had stayed out of the bedroom and in the bowels of the boxing world, this small ...

By Bob Strauss of Los Angeles Daily News (7/0)
            Lurie, once a journalist himself and the man behind such odd but probing political dramas as The ...

By Mark Dujsik of Mark Reviews Movies (7/0)
            The script and director Rod Lurie just can't get the parts to meld.

By Pete Hammond of Maxim (7/0)
            It's one to see, an engrossing, surprising and moving drama that will restore your faith in the p...

By Duane Dudek of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/0)
            Resurrecting the Champ leaves a lot to be desired as a boxing movie. And compared with newsroom d...

By Colin Covert of Minneapolis Star Tribune (7/0)
            This is at heart a story about fathers and sons and self-discovery, and on that score it's a knoc...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Ron Wilkinson of Monsters and Critics (7/0)
            Slow in the father-son heart to heart parts, "Champ" brings it all back home in the end with a gr...

By Michael Dequina of Mr. Brown's Movies (6/1)
            It's hard to have a genuine emotional response when the manipulative mechanics are all too strong...

By Lou Lumenick of New York Post (7/0)
            ...a compendium of the worst clichés of sports and journalism movies.

By Stephen Holden of New York Times (7/0)
            As the story takes a predictable turn from disgrace toward redemption, the film sacrifices credib...

By Kam Williams of NewsBlaze (7/0)
            Pardon me for being offended when a flick revolving around the question of journalistic ethics ta...

By Gene Seymour of Newsday (7/0)
            When Resurrecting the Champ climbs off its high horse and makes itself comfortable within the con...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Michael A. Smith of Nolan's Pop Culture Review (7/0)
            Like a championship fight, a movie is often reviewed in rounds. This being said, I think I'll go ...

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            Comes across an awful lot like a sentimental, manipulative teleflick. The good news is that it's...

By Tasha Robinson of Onion AV Club (7/0)
            Champ is a solid effort with a lot going for it, but it suggests that Lurie still isn't willing t...

By Roger Moore of Orlando Sentinel (7/0)
            Even if it doesn't bring the nearly dead boxing film back to life, Resurrection offers a revealin...

By John Thomason of Orlando Weekly (7/0)
            Hartnett seems to be getting better with every performance, and it’s stunning to watch Jackson sl...

By Gary Thompson of Philadelphia Daily News (7/0)
            [Hartnett's and Jackson's] scenes are underscored with some memorably good writing.

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Carrie Rickey of Philadelphia Inquirer (7/0)
            Though sensitively acted by Jackson, this solemn sermonette from Rod Lurie struggles to get off t...

By Jon Popick of Planet Sick-Boy (7/0)
            Another Hollywood story of a mystical negro who teaches Whitey a lesson about how to best deal wi...

By Pam Grady of Reel.com (7/0)
            Ultimately, the film fails because it never answers the question of why anyone should care about ...

By Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            An inspirational tale about the rise, fall and rise, again, of a journalist as he tries to bring ...

By Frank Wilkins of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (6/1)
            There's a brilliant story in 'Resurrecting the Champ' trying to get out, but it just isn't told ...

By Diana Saenger of ReviewExpress.com (7/0)
            Jackson sheds all elements of ego and literally becomes a disheveled homeless man in appearance, ...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Carla Meyer of Sacramento Bee (7/0)
            Samuel L. Jackson easily could have gone over the top with his role as an elderly and homeless fo...

By Jim Lane of Sacramento News & Review (7/0)
            ...never becomes as compelling as it promises to be...

By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (7/0)
            Hartnett barely manages to carry all [the movie's] weight, only to be blown off the screen by Jac...

By Don Norcross of San Diego Union-Tribune (7/0)
            Bottom line, the film is excellent. Jackson is the undeniable star, his portrayal poignant and re...

By Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            it's the complexity of (director) Lurie's moral universe that makes it linger in the mind.

By Gina Carbone of Seacoast Newspapers (NH/Maine) (7/0)
            Everything is about winning respect versus earning it. This film earned mine. I'm glad I took a c...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Sean McBride of Sean the Movie Guy (7/0)
            despite its shortcomings, still functions as a piece of crowd-pleasing cinema.

By William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            ...good as it is in spots -- the movie never quite comes together to be a coherent drama.

By Tom Keogh of Seattle Times (7/0)
            There's no rule that says a movie must have a likable character at its center, but it helps if a ...

By Paul Schrodt of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            Rescurrecting the Champ is a snooze.

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
            The screenplay writers have created a confused mess that travels down far too many different them...

By David Fear of Time Out New York (7/0)
            The pummeling that Resurrecting the Champ unleashes on heartstrings in its last rounds is too pai...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Geoff Pevere of Toronto Star (7/0)
            While Resurrecting the Champ seems to be just what you expect, it's only when you've let your gua...

By Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide's Movie Guide (7/0)
            Hartnett just seems sullen and sneaky, and the powerhouse performances that Jackson, Alda and Pay...

By Brian Tallerico of UGO (7/0)
            The writers and director bury their own story and never give their audience a reason to care abou...

By Robert Wilonsky of Village Voice (7/0)
            Director Rod Lurie can always find the overwrought in the mundane.

By Brian Gibson of Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) (7/0)
            Subtlety is knocked on its ass and put out for the count, though a chilling sense of white self-e...

By Willie Waffle of WaffleMovies.com (7/0)
            Director Rod Lurie delivers a compelling story dramatic when it needs to be, touching in the righ...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Stephen Hunter of Washington Post (7/0)
            Hardly anything feels real, but what feels even more unreal is Hartnett with a cloying, sentiment...

By Daniel M. Kimmel of Worcester Telegram & Gazette (7/0)
            Resurrecting the Champ raises some interesting questions about the price of success and whether t...

By Susan Granger of www.susangranger.com (7/0)
            Uplifting, redemptive, crowd-pleasing sports drama

By Scott Craven of Arizona Republic (6/1) No reference
            Resurrecting the Champ bobs and weaves enough to avoid the usual sports clichés, but its too-earn...

By Lawrence Toppman of Charlotte Observer (5/2) No reference
            ...Jackson has never done subtler, more powerful work.

By J. R. Jones of Chicago Reader (6/1) No reference
            Treacle takes over in the last act, but most of this fact-based story by screenwriters Michael Bo...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Ethan Alter of Giant Magazine (6/1) No reference
            It's the scrappy underdog in a season full of blockbuster heavyweights.

By Robert W. Butler of Kansas City Star (6/1) No reference
            Director Rod Lurie and screenwriters Michael Bortman and Allison Burnett have fashioned a sneaky ...

By Kevin Crust of Los Angeles Times (6/1) No reference
            ...Resurrecting delivers a heckuva story marred by some credibility problems but lands the majori...

By Matt Pais of Metromix.com (6/1) No reference
            A heart-warming film about sons and fathers and the reality of famous figures, whether they're on...

By Rene Rodriguez of Miami Herald (6/1) No reference
            The thoroughly unconvincing drama Resurrecting the Champ might be based on a true story, but that...

By Nell Minow of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (6/1) No reference
            This is a movie about honor and integrity and reputation that itself plays fast and loose with th...

                         Reviews of Resurrecting the Champ
By Stephen Whitty of Newark Star-Ledger (6/1) No reference
            The whole thing is a mismatch from the start.

By Shawn Levy of Oregonian (6/1) No reference
            Clumsiness follows clumsiness -- the acting, the staging, the details of the plot -- until you re...

By Robert Roten of Laramie Movie Scope (6/1) Not Reachable
            This is a story that anyone should be able to relate to because we all fall short of perfection.

Movie Distributors
Yari Film Group

Production Companies
Phoenix Pictures
Battle Plan Productions

Movie Studios