Review – Bleed for This

Here’s the deal with boxing movies; you know exactly how it is going to end.  Regardless of the story, the film will always end with a climactic fight where the main fighter will give it his all and either win or lose.  There are a couple exceptions to this, mainly Raging Bull (1980) and Million Dollar Baby (2004), but almost every other boxing film, from Rocky (1976), to Cinderella Man (2005), to The Fighter (2010), falls into this category.

However, that isn’t why we go to movies about boxing.  Sure, seeing a realistic and cool boxing match in a film is great and a major part of the film, but you can get a great fight in a lot of movies.  The real reason we see boxing movies, any boxing movie, is because of the characters and their journey.  A good boxing movie will have rich, compelling characters, like the lovable Rocky Balboa, the despicable Jake LaMotta, and the underdog, “Irish” Mickey Ward.

Thankfully in Bleed for This, it has a pair of compelling characters in Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza (Miles Teller) and Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart), and it is these characters and the performances by the two actors portraying them that elevate Bleed for This to the upper-tier of boxing films.

This is the true story of Pazienza, a brash, arrogant, tough boxing champion who gets into a car accident that nearly severs his spine.  With the help of his trainer, Kevin Rooney, Pazienza attempts to make a remarkable comeback to boxing glory.

Teller got jacked for this role and it pays off.  He owns the screen as Pazienza.  Teller knows how to rock the arrogance of Pazienza, who will talk as much shit as anyone and will back it up with his fighting.  However, what impressed me the most from Teller was during the injury and the comeback.  Teller has never been this vulnerable on screen.  We watch as this man who could do anything is brought down to nothing, and it is Teller’s emotional, determined performance that makes us root for Pazienza.

Aaron Eckhart has put together quite a 2016.  He has starred in Clint Eastwood’s Sully, and was the perfect partner for star, Tom Hanks.  He one-ups himself in this one as Rooney.  Putting on a few pounds and rocking a bald cap, Eckhart portrays this flawed, brilliant trainer with great intensity and compassion.  It is the impeccable chemistry between Teller and Eckhart that shows how Pazienza and Rooney help one another to become better people and get back to the top.

Usually an incredible story of this magnitude would have a high profile, Oscar-friendly director who would have made a glossier film.  But director Ben Younger uses his independent eye to show us intimate moments that really heighten the emotion, while also balancing it with exciting boxing matches.  You feel the struggle when Pazienza tries to benchpress for the first time and you feel the pain and agony as he gets his halo device removed without a sedative.  It is these scenes and Younger’s gritty direction that makes the movie different from other boxing films.

Bleed for This is yet another excellent boxing movie.  With its compelling characters portrayed by great performances from Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart and Ben Younger’s rugged, visceral direction make this amazing true story a crowd-pleasing hit.

MY RATING – 3.5/4

Did you see Bleed for This?  What did you think?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook and YouTube by searching Kevflix.