(Credit IMDb) Coming of age in small-town Oklahoma. High schooler Cal Chetley is a brainy beanpole. He lives with his widowed mother: ten years earlier, his father, a state champion in wrestling, died in a car crash. Cal's older brother Mike, also a former champion and now down and out at 28, is estranged from the family. Over the course of a fall and winter, we watch Cal join the high school wrestling team and search out Mike to ask for help. Mike rejects the offer, but Cal is persistent. What if Mike accepts the challenge, is he destined to let Cal down? Giving advice and encouragement are an enigmatic old man and Cal's quirky neighbor, Lori. Plus, there's Cal's mom to reckon with.
Legendary is a WWE studio triumph, no I'm being serious. The heart, the effort, and the pure emotion from the ramifications surrounding the plot were clearly apparent, and I appreciated that. This is the definition of a feel-good movie. For starters I got to give major props to our lead character Devon Graye (Cal) He is our lead character, and he managed to have the depth, the talent, and the conviction to truly stand out. I felt his frustration, I believed in his growing relationship with his distant brother Mike (Cena) but the real stand-out performer here is John Cena. He takes a lot of slack from fellow Wrestling fans, and the general public. It's not Oscar Worthy, but he was actually good. He really stepped up his game for this. The Amateur wrestling scenes themselves are actually pretty convincing, and exciting. I loved the build-up, I loved the story, and even though it's loaded with clichés of its type, it never failed once to make me emotional, or put a smile in my face. All I ask is to be entertained by a movie, or moved. This did both with fine execution. My only complaint was the P.G feel held a lot back, and I felt they could have gone even deeper into the pit Mike's character was in.
Performances. John Cena seriously impressed me here. He wasn't perfect, the inexperience is still showing, but the effort often out-shined that. He clearly poured all his emotion, all of his heart into this character. And for what his character was given, he did a pretty bang up job if you ask me. I'm not a Cena fan boy, but I do respect his charisma, and the death threats, Etc are very much ridiculous. Good work Mr. Cena. Devon Graye is excellent as Cal. His chemistry with Cena is natural, and easy flowing, his courage, and his obsession with redemption often highlighted this film. Maybe I'm just a sucker for this type of stuff, but I enjoyed his show. Patricia Clarkson is a revelation, but that's no surprise. She delivers in anything she's in, and her intensity was utterly mesmerizing. I especially enjoyed the scene in Jail she had with Cena, it gave me chills. Danny Glover doesn't have much to do but play the mysterious old-man, but he has a decent twist at the end, and his presence was greatly felt.
Bottom line. It's far from perfect, but this movie seriously stuck with me. I truly expected the worst, and after the endless, annoying promotion, the TV commercials on WWE Raw, to say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. One of 2010's most underrated movies, and knowing how people are with John Cena in general, I wouldn't be surprised if I create anger and backlash among film-goers, and wrestling fans alike. News flash, grow up. Highly recommended
8 ½ /10
Legendary is a WWE studio triumph, no I'm being serious. The heart, the effort, and the pure emotion from the ramifications surrounding the plot were clearly apparent, and I appreciated that. This is the definition of a feel-good movie. For starters I got to give major props to our lead character Devon Graye (Cal) He is our lead character, and he managed to have the depth, the talent, and the conviction to truly stand out. I felt his frustration, I believed in his growing relationship with his distant brother Mike (Cena) but the real stand-out performer here is John Cena. He takes a lot of slack from fellow Wrestling fans, and the general public. It's not Oscar Worthy, but he was actually good. He really stepped up his game for this. The Amateur wrestling scenes themselves are actually pretty convincing, and exciting. I loved the build-up, I loved the story, and even though it's loaded with clichés of its type, it never failed once to make me emotional, or put a smile in my face. All I ask is to be entertained by a movie, or moved. This did both with fine execution. My only complaint was the P.G feel held a lot back, and I felt they could have gone even deeper into the pit Mike's character was in.
Performances. John Cena seriously impressed me here. He wasn't perfect, the inexperience is still showing, but the effort often out-shined that. He clearly poured all his emotion, all of his heart into this character. And for what his character was given, he did a pretty bang up job if you ask me. I'm not a Cena fan boy, but I do respect his charisma, and the death threats, Etc are very much ridiculous. Good work Mr. Cena. Devon Graye is excellent as Cal. His chemistry with Cena is natural, and easy flowing, his courage, and his obsession with redemption often highlighted this film. Maybe I'm just a sucker for this type of stuff, but I enjoyed his show. Patricia Clarkson is a revelation, but that's no surprise. She delivers in anything she's in, and her intensity was utterly mesmerizing. I especially enjoyed the scene in Jail she had with Cena, it gave me chills. Danny Glover doesn't have much to do but play the mysterious old-man, but he has a decent twist at the end, and his presence was greatly felt.
Bottom line. It's far from perfect, but this movie seriously stuck with me. I truly expected the worst, and after the endless, annoying promotion, the TV commercials on WWE Raw, to say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. One of 2010's most underrated movies, and knowing how people are with John Cena in general, I wouldn't be surprised if I create anger and backlash among film-goers, and wrestling fans alike. News flash, grow up. Highly recommended
8 ½ /10