Legendary

This is not meant to be some mind bending deep thought drama. It's your typical redemption movie. The actors who play the villain students / his quirky friend are pretty darn awkward and cheesy, but the main three put in solid performances.

OK to all those Cena haters out there, don't judge a book by its cover cause this is one Cena movie that was actually pretty good. Yes those who know me know i live and breathe pro wrestling and i have never hated Cena, although truth be told i have seen a lot better wrestlers out there however that being said i will also have to say their are a lot worse. Are u listening to me Flair?? Cena is definitely no Dwayne Johnson although i think he has like 100 lbs of pure muscle on the rock, he couldn't out act the rock, but ill tell you in this he tries damn hard. I have to hand it to wrestlers who journey outside the squared circle to venture into unknown territory that hollywierd has to offer. I mean you never see Actors do it aside from the late great Andy Kaufman and of course the idiot David Arquette. Wrestle i mean that is. Great cast including Danny Glover who plays an old fisherman that young Cal (Devon Graye) bumps into and gets a friendship going while spending time down by the river. And Patricia Clarkson who is simply brilliant as Cal and Mike's (John Cena) Mom. The rest of the cast although basically unknowns including Devon Graye do fantastic jobs. The storyline is this, young Cal who is living in the shadow of his former all star wrestling brother Mike who has estranged him and his mother ever since their father was killed in an automobile accident. Mike went from all American hero on a major downward spiral and alluded the surviving family members. Cal decides to join the school's wrestling team and also seek his brother's help in training him along the way. Although reluctant at first mike decides its time to break the ice and take his younger brother on. This movie is inspiring and in my opinion can proudly say can join amongst the other sport inspiring stories ie; Rocky, Cinderella Man to name a few. A good film.

I mean, you got drama with a hint of mystery; you got sport emotions and suspense, you got genuine character development (fair play for young actors here), way above decent cast and that feel-good touch after leaving the theater…but that's just my personal take, as an active combat sports contester I must say that this side of the movie gives you pretty good inside on how it looks like through the eyes of an athlete. It's not another "bullied kid finds his master and kicks ass" movie, it is way beyond that, best to see it for yourself, you can easily take your gf with you and she will love it as well.

To wrap it all up – great movie, great cast, great feeling after – why would you give that a miss?

By far the best film that features the sport of high school wrestling since the film "Vision Quest".

I cannot stand the "Pro Wresting" shows/films because I think that they do damage to the public view of what the amateur forms of high school wrestling and Olympic styles of wrestling are in real life.

That being said, this is a fine film that shows some aspects of high school wrestling with a fairly good story plot about a teenager facing family life struggles combined with the drive to compete in sports.

John Cena does a decent performance but the film is centered on a teen, high school age young man played by Devon Graye who gives a pretty darn good performance. A good supporting cast too!

A good film for "tweens" and older. Highly recommended for families that play sports.

Cal Chetley (Devon Graye) is a 135lb beanpole high school nerd getting bullied by fellow student Billy Barrow (Tyler Posey). He lives with his widowed mother Sharon (Patricia Clarkson). His older brother Mike (John Cena) is struggling and mostly absent. Mike and father were champion wrestlers and Cal wants to start wrestling. Sharon is not happy blaming the lost of her family and Mike specifically to wrestling. The next door neighbor girl Luli (Madeleine Martin) is completely infatuated with Cal.

This being a WWE movie. The biggest question for this is the acting ability of John Cena. While he can walk and talk, he doesn't have the nuance of emotional acting. He is just outclassed by Patricia Clarkson in their scenes. Devon Graye is not a great actor either, at least not yet. He needs to be much better as the lead. Madeleine Martin steals her scenes whenever she's on the screen. She has a spunky wacky character to play with. The story is very bland and unimaginative. It has no surprises or originality. This is strictly an after-school special TV movie.