With Rod Lurie (The Contender) at the helm and Samuel L Jackson and Josh Hartnett both delivering quite possibly the best performances of their careers, Resurrecting the Champ is an entertaining and intelligent father and son relationship drama set in the midst of an offbeat sports story.
Denver Times sportswriter Erik Kernan (Hartnett) can’t get a break. His articles covering the local boxing scene are routinely buried by his editor, Metz (Alan Alda), and when he inquires as to why, he’s told his writing is entirely forgettable. “A lotta typing - not much writing,” says Metz. That’s tough criticism for any writer to swallow, but it’s doubly hard for Erik. His father, now deceased, was a beloved reporter and Erik has been struggling his entire professional career to try and live up to his father’s name - and so far hasn’t succeeded. Erik’s personal life is also in shambles. He’s estranged from his wife and now lives separate from 6-year-old Teddy (Dakota Goyo), the son he adores.
Exiting the boxing arena one night, Erik comes across a homeless man being ruthlessly beaten by three arrogant jerks. After scaring away his assailants, the homeless man introduces himself to his rescuer as Champ and claims to be ‘Battling Bob’ Satterfield, a boxer who had a real shot at the title before he apparently hit upon hard times. Erik’s random encounter with Champ forms the basis of a story idea which he pitches to another department at the Times and gets hired to write.
Samuel L Jackson and Josh Hartnett in Resurrecting the Champ.
© Yari Film GroupThe Cast
The age difference between Josh Hartnett and Kathryn Morris (Cold Case) who plays his estranged wife is a little distracting but not overly so. Hartnett’s also got such a baby face that seeing him as a dad to a 6 year-old-son seems slightly weird, but that’s probably only due to the fact this film marks his first time playing a father. He’s certainly old enough in real life (Hartnett was born in 1978) to have fathered a kid that age. But both those points are very minor concerns given the fact Hartnett, Morris, and the rest of the cast are superb in their roles.
Hartnett’s matured as an actor and his last few film choices have allowed him to fully break away from any remaining teen heartthrob remnants that might have still clung to him in the years since Halloween H20, Here on Earth and The Faculty. As a struggling writer battling his own set of demons, Hartnett brings a lot of heart and soul to a character who has an overabundance of charm to fall back on when his skills as a journalist don’t suffice.
The Bottom Line
Director Rod Lurie was the perfect man to helm this film. Coming from the world of journalism, Lurie brought an exceptional amount of realism to the newsroom scenes and a real authentic tone to the dialogue, in particular the discussion involving the mingling of entertainment and news.
The well-choreographed boxing scenes are scarce and totally secondary to building up the complex characters at the heart of the story, as they should be. This isn’t a boxing movie and you absolutely do not have to be a fan of the sport – or of sports movies in general – in order to get into and appreciate the touching tale that unfolds on the screen in Resurrecting the Champ. If you cry easily, you may want to consider bringing along a few tissues. Resurrecting the Champ doesn't pull any punches when it comes to playing on our emotions.
GRADE: A-
Resurrecting the Champ was directed by Rod Lurie and is rated PG-13 for some violence and brief language.
