Review of Resurrecting the Champ (2007) by David H — 03 Jun 2010

A not-bad effort, with a few genuinely affecting moments. Still, the various parts never really coalesce. First, the good. Josh Hartnett is becoming a genuinely great actor; the man has a wonderful screen presence here, and gives a performance that feels honest and lived-in.

Same goes for most of the other performers. I also like Erik's motivation being one of misguided love, which ads an interesting dimension to his character arc. Now, the bad. Sam Jackson is HORRIBLY miscast here.

He's a great actor, but damn is he ever out of his element here! With forced, overly calculated mannerisms and an annoyingly distracting nasal voice, this is easily -- to say the least -- one of Jackson's more misguided efforts.

Structurally, Resurrecting the Champ feels a little overstuffed. Champ's storyline takes the least amount of screen time, which doesn't allow for genuine pathos during the moments that call for sympathy.

Either the filmmakers should have delved a little more deeply into Champ's past, or avoided certain moments (like when Champ is deciding whether or not to see his wife again after decades apart) all together.

There's also a cliched, poorly developed subplot involving Erik's burgeoning attraction to newspaper editor Polly that is completely dropped from the plot after a certain point without any kind of satisfying resolution.

One thus wonders why the filmmakers bothered to include this romantic aspect at all, especially given that the heart of the story resides in Erik's relationship with his ex-wife and son. All in all, a good try that offers some great parts that never join into a satisfying whole.