Liked this film more than I thought it would. Am not really a boxing fan, but like all good biopics should, it went above and beyond the sport and focussed on the character at the heart of it. Still, if the fight is your thing, it doesn't do too badly in the ring either.

An indie drama, Chuck tells the story of the real life Rocky, Chuck the “Bayonne Bleeder” Wepner. The film follows professional Philadelphia boxer Chuck Wepner who gets a shot at the heavy weight boxing championship with Muhammad Ali, and soon after learns that Hollywood has made a film inspired by the fight and his life, and becomes obsessed with the film and rides its fame. Liev Schreiber gives a really strong performance, as does Naomi Watts. And the script has a nice pace and does a good job at using a first person narrative. However, it’s a little underdeveloped; not going too much into his boxing career or substance abuse issues. Also, the plot is kind of familiar; following a typical biopic formula with a rise, a fall, and a redemption. Yet despite its problems, Chuck is an interesting and cautionary tale about the dangers of reflected glory.

1 / 2 directing & technical aspect 1 / 1 story 1 / 1 act I 1 / 1 act II 0 / 1 act III 1 / 1 acting 1 / 1 writing 0 / 1 originality 0 / 1 lasting ability to make you think 0 / 1 misc 6 out of 10

Like a punch drunk boxer, sometimes Chuck connected and sometimes it went down swinging, but it never gave up and ended up a technical knockout. A definite recommend.