Tuesday's Overlooked Movies: Knockout

KNOCKOUT is one of the most predictable movies I've ever seen. A pudgy teenager who loves boxing (because his grandfather was a prizefighter) has to go to a new school because his mother remarries, and on the first day there he's promptly bullied by the star of the school's boxing team. Oh, and the school's janitor is played by Steve Austin. I don't believe it's too much of a spoiler to say that if you think good ol' Stone Cold is going to take the fat kid under his wing, whip him into shape, and teach him how to box so he can stand up to the bully, you'd be right.

All that said, I enjoyed KNOCKOUT quite a bit. There are a few minor surprises, such as the kid's new stepfather turning out to be a really decent guy and not the jerk stepfathers are usually portrayed as in movies. And Steve Austin, while not the actor that Dwayne Johnson has turned out to be, has a ton of screen presence and is very likable. He's probably my second favorite wrester-turned-actor, after Johnson. KNOCKOUT isn't a great film, but it's entertaining and worth watching if you like inspirational sports movies. And it passes my ultimate movie test: I stayed awake for the whole thing.