(2 out of 5 stars)

This movie stars Josh Harnett as a sports reporter who is looking for his first big story to make it big as a journalist and what he finds is a former boxer living on the streets played by Samuel L. Jackson. As the movie progresses, Harnett’s character wonders if the boxer is who he says he is. This is similar to the movie Shattered Glass where Hayden Christensen plays a journalist trying to make it big but ends up being questioned by his boss whether or not his stories are true.

Resurrecting the Champ does not give us much cinematically to have interest in, but it does allow us to make many comparisons. Starting with Samuel L. Jackson; remember how hard he campaigned for a part in Star Wars and was one of the worst things about it, remember how Jackson basically played an exaggerated version of himself in 1409, well now he goes overboard and overacts as if he is trying to hard to not be Sam Jackson to become the boxer. Every minute on screen begs the question, why does this man continue to get work. He was correctly cast in Unbreakable and was decent in Die Hard with a Vengeance, but overall, I have never been impressed and Champ continues that long list of movies that would have been better with a different actor.

Resurrecting the Champ needs some resurrecting itself. The movie has a promising premise, but is dangerously close to being dead on revival. Harnett does what he can, but is overshadowed by a Samuel L. Jackson that has long since been any champ of anything when it comes to acting. There is a reason movies tend to be on the shelf at the video store, and Champ proves that theory.

Similar recommended titles: Shattered Glass