Anthony Robles is a wrestler with ambitions to reach the top of the American collegiate championships. That's going to be more of a challenge for him than most as he only has one leg, but this is not a man who is going to shy away from that challenge. It's a competent Jharrel Jerome who plays him for the dramatic elements of the story whilst it's the man himself doing the far more energetic wrestling aspects and the unremarkalble Jennifer Lopez simply fails to shine at all as his mother, caught up in a torrid relationship. When this drama focusses on the sheer passion of this man and his determination to succeed, it works well enough, but it spends far too much time on the familial discord aspects of their lives. Sure, these are contributory factors to the remarkable nature of his achievements, but they drag the pace down and soak us in a melodrama that rather takes from the potency of a story that's well worth the telling. Michael Peña delivers better as his no-nonsense but ultimately motivational coach and the action photography really does give us a sense of the effort and hard work required by Robles to prove to his peers and himself that he had what it takes to reach the top in a very competitive sport where he would be given no quarter. Personally, I'd have preferred a documentary to this drama as Robles himself is the star and the others really just clutter up the story with their over-scripted dialogue and sentimentality. I did quite like the intimate nature of the photography during the action scenes. A bit juddery at times, but it made the action on the mat all the more visceral for a character who lived and breathed his sport. It just goes to show what can be achieved when the attitude is positive and the support structure is there to facilitate that.
2025-01-18
