55
Metascore
28 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Film ThreatFilm ThreatIt is great to see a boxing movie that portrays both boxing and Jackson in different lights.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterCharged by a knock-out performance from Samuel L. Jackson, this compelling story of manly redemption will deliver a winning boxoffice combination of word of mouth and ultimately step outside the generic ring of sports lore.
- 67Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerBy skewing the film into a father-son inspirational saga, the filmmakers sell out the best possibilities in their material. Lurie clearly wants Resurrecting the Champ to be "more" than a sports movie, or a newspaper movie. Ironically, he ends up with less.
- 67Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldSeattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldIt's more intelligent than most Hollywood movies you'll find in the heat of summer, and its saving grace is the quality of its acting, including Jackson's uncompromising turn as the old fighter, and delicious bits by David Paymer and Alan Alda as veteran editors.
- 63Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsThe film is easy to take, though it must be said: It's almost 100 percent blather.
- 60VarietyVarietyOverly sentimentalized and the execution is slack. If not for Samuel L. Jackson's performance as the ravaged boxer, "Champ" would be of limited interest.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceThis isn't great raw material, though Lurie and his screenwriters try their best to portray Erik as some guilt-ridden evildoer who's perpetrated a great fraud.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenStays on its feet through all the rounds, but it never “floats like a butterfly.”
- 50Washington PostStephen HunterWashington PostStephen HunterHardly anything feels real, but what feels even more unreal is Hartnett with a cloying, sentimental, self-pitying performance. The liveliest thing in the film is the great Jackson, slumming again in a role miles beneath him.
- 33Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThe gooey sanctity of the bond between fathers and sons all but nullify Jackson's zesty performance.