The boxing movie genre has felt repetitive lately. Two months ago, The Weinstein Company released *Hands of Stone*, which I found to be a fairly unremarkable boxing film—a comeback story that was both uninspired and superficial. Now Open Road Films is hurrying to get *Bleed For This* into the awards race, starring Miles Teller as Vinny Pazienza, seemingly in an attempt for him to finally win an Oscar. Following J.K. Simmons’ exceptionally powerful performance in *Whiplash*, Teller deserves a biopic like this. If *Whiplash* wasn't enough to get him noticed during awards season, perhaps a film such as this would do the trick. The movie tells the inspirational story of World Champion Boxer Vinny Pazienza, who after a devastating car crash that left him unsure if he’d ever walk again, made one of sports’ most remarkable recoveries. These days, boxing films all seem to follow the same formula: “give me another chance,” “one more shot.” Writer/Director Ben Younger tries to make this biopic stand out from the others. Right away, you see that Vinny is a reckless and unpredictable force. The film quickly establishes his flaws within the first ten minutes. It then moves directly into his defeat and introduces the people who were important to both his career and his life, particularly his family. The movie highlights how much Vinny valued his home life; every time he’s boxing on television, you see his mother in another room praying and smoking while looking at her religious figurines, yet she still calls out to her family to find out if he's winning. If you’ve ever wanted to watch Miles Teller portray a boxer with a Rhode Island accent, then this is the movie for you. Although he resembles Jerry Ferrara more than anything else, he does a good job in his leading role as Vinny Pazienza. His voice sounds very similar to the real boxer's. What makes Vinny an engaging character to follow isn’t just that “he’s a fighter,” but also that he is not arrogant. The most genuine aspect of Pazienza’s story is his near-fatal accident and his subsequent recovery. Most boxing films focus on the boxer’s win-loss-win narrative, but this one centers around a real tragedy. Even after nearly dying, he still wants to box. It's the scenes where Vinny is wearing the HALO while trying to train that demonstrate Teller’s commitment to the role; he’s more muscular than ever before. Younger effectively captures Pazienza’s passion and spirit, making him likable, and Teller does a great job of bringing the character to life. While Miles Teller delivers a strong performance, he is sometimes overshadowed by Aaron Eckhart, who appears in several roles this year—*Sully* and now this one. When he's first introduced, you can’t even recognize him; his voice and appearance are completely different. He’s more than just an average boxing trainer with a complicated past; he’s also Vinny’s friend. Eckhart adopts a New York accent and often delivers some of the film's best lines. However, whenever he shares the screen with Teller, there is undeniable chemistry between them. It may not be as powerful as B. Jordan and Stallone in *Creed*, but their relationship is very strong. One of the movie’s highlights is the recreation of Vinny’s training videos using his HALO. The film does fall into some boxing clichés with numerous training montages and familiar plot elements. This isn't a major issue, but the actual fight scenes aren’t particularly impressive; the focus is more on Pazienza’s comeback than on the boxing itself. Many of the sequences take place outside of the ring, showing the audience’s reactions. In some ways, this film could be considered a sequel to *Hands of Stone*, as it includes the fight between Duran and Pazienza toward the end. I was personally disappointed that Edgar Ramirez wasn't brought back to reprise his role. *Hands of Stone* didn’t feature the Vinny Paz fight (for obvious reasons), but this one does—so why couldn't they get Ramirez? It seems a Boxing Cinematic Universe will never happen. *Bleed For This* is a generally good biopic, featuring strong performances from Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart and a well-written screenplay by writer/director Ben Younger.

Source on TMDB