Bleed for This (C- or 2/4 stars)
Inspirational boxing movies are a dime a dozen. They're usually about the persistence of an underdog. And that's no different with 'Bleed for This' (directed by Ben Younger). Back in 1987, Rhode Island fighter Vinny "The Pazmanian Devil" Pazienza (Miles Teller) won & lost a ton of matches playing both sloppy & complacently until he eventually became World Champion ... only to lose an '88 fight at Caesar's Palace. Then a catastrophic car crash left him with a broken neck. Forced to wear a painful Halo (medical neck brace held in by screws driven into his skull), he's determined to go back into the boxing ring against his MD's orders.
Observing that they're both "out to pasture", Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart, with a horrible wig), an alcoholic, deadbeat coach who was fired by Mike Tyson, paves belligerent Vinny's road to redemption; culminating in an unpredictable comeback. Of course ...this does not sit well with his shrill, tight-knit Italian Catholic family, including his potty-mouthed sister, Doreen (Amanda Clayton), devout mother, Louise (Katey Sagal) & browbeating father, Angelo (good 'ole Ciaran Hinds). Vinny starts to learn discipline from Kevin and, rather than lose purpose in life, he starts to actually "fight".
Eh, this 'inspirational boxing flick' just didn't do it for me. It's not some reprehensible piece of cinema. I just didn't buy the character arcs, or care. Miles Teller beefs up for this role & gives it his all; delivering an intense performance not unlike his turn in Whiplash. But while he exudes charisma, I just didn't care for Vinny, in general. More impressive, to me, was a near-unrecognizable Aaron Eckhart as the flawed, but loyal Kevin Rooney. Rooney is a mess, even while helping Vinny pick-up the shattered pieces of his own 'mess' life. So while I didn't love this movie at all, I still praise Eckhart's portrayal of a man who captures the sort of joyful spirit that CAN come with devoting everything to someone or something else other than himself.
Filmed on a flimsy $6,000,000 budget, 'Bleed for This' has an appropriately gritty, cheap visual style to it that suits the boxing genre. That's all well & fine, but then there are no great boxing sequences to back-up that gritty vibe. Next to the likes of Raging Bull, Rocky, Million Dollar Baby, The Fighter, Southpaw, or even something from wayyy back like Paul Newman's Somebody Up There Likes Me ... this film doesn't come close to those superior, iconic hits. Also, this film is a good 15-20 minutes too long; affording unnecessary padding to the running time. 'Bleed for This' proves, to me, that all the blood, sweat, profanity, sports stereotypes & thespian chops can't always make for a compelling boxing movie.
Observing that they're both "out to pasture", Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart, with a horrible wig), an alcoholic, deadbeat coach who was fired by Mike Tyson, paves belligerent Vinny's road to redemption; culminating in an unpredictable comeback. Of course ...this does not sit well with his shrill, tight-knit Italian Catholic family, including his potty-mouthed sister, Doreen (Amanda Clayton), devout mother, Louise (Katey Sagal) & browbeating father, Angelo (good 'ole Ciaran Hinds). Vinny starts to learn discipline from Kevin and, rather than lose purpose in life, he starts to actually "fight".
Eh, this 'inspirational boxing flick' just didn't do it for me. It's not some reprehensible piece of cinema. I just didn't buy the character arcs, or care. Miles Teller beefs up for this role & gives it his all; delivering an intense performance not unlike his turn in Whiplash. But while he exudes charisma, I just didn't care for Vinny, in general. More impressive, to me, was a near-unrecognizable Aaron Eckhart as the flawed, but loyal Kevin Rooney. Rooney is a mess, even while helping Vinny pick-up the shattered pieces of his own 'mess' life. So while I didn't love this movie at all, I still praise Eckhart's portrayal of a man who captures the sort of joyful spirit that CAN come with devoting everything to someone or something else other than himself.
Filmed on a flimsy $6,000,000 budget, 'Bleed for This' has an appropriately gritty, cheap visual style to it that suits the boxing genre. That's all well & fine, but then there are no great boxing sequences to back-up that gritty vibe. Next to the likes of Raging Bull, Rocky, Million Dollar Baby, The Fighter, Southpaw, or even something from wayyy back like Paul Newman's Somebody Up There Likes Me ... this film doesn't come close to those superior, iconic hits. Also, this film is a good 15-20 minutes too long; affording unnecessary padding to the running time. 'Bleed for This' proves, to me, that all the blood, sweat, profanity, sports stereotypes & thespian chops can't always make for a compelling boxing movie.