The Last Champion

The acting was on point. But the story.... See Hoosiers....

The people involved with the The Last Champion movie trailer should get a A plus plus. !! Incredible job. Editing and music overlay hit a home run. Definitely hit my emotional nerve. Great story....

Honestly this was a great movie with a beautiful story. I've heard people saying it was bad because "it didn't have enough wrestling." Well here's the thing... if you're looking to watch a high school wrestling match, I recommend going down to your local high school to do so, because this isn't what this movie is or is intended to be. This movie is about second chances, redemption, perseverance, and community, and it's portrayed through the use of a high school wrestling team and a former Olympic wrestler.

So if you're into sports related movies and love a good story to go along with it, this movie is for you and I highly recommend.

Disgraced former wrestling champ John Wright (Cole Hauser) returns to his hometown. He's an outcast among the town folks. He's back to sell the family home after the death of his mother. Michael Miller is the struggling student wrestler. His mother is a drunk and they are too poor to buy meat. He's caught stealing from the grocery store. When the supportive wrestling coach Frank Stevens dies, John is hired as the new coach.

This filled with emotional melodrama. I would prefer less on-the-nose melodrama. The villains are over-the-top villains. I do appreciate Cole Hauser trying to underplay his performance. It's probably the only way to do his acting in this case. It's good that his personal flaw isn't explained away or passed on to the bad guy. I was half-expecting that the villain had somehow forced John to take the steroids. At its core, this is a very simple story of redemption. Its simplicity is a great strength but it may have contributed to some simplification of the villain characters.

Filmed in Big Sky country, this is a beautiful tale. Cole Hauser, who has skyrocketed to fame with his work in Yellowstone, delivers a wonderful performance. Also, the great Dan Gable makes a cameo at the end of the film. He would never have been involved with this, if he didn't believe it would not represent amateur wrestling well.