Bleed for This

Boxer Vinny Pazienza (Miles Teller, goofy and charming) is not much of a pugilist. Not at the start of Ben Younger’s by-the-numbers biopic, at least. We first see him taking a pounding in 1988 – he has heart, but as his scurrilous manager tells him, “you wear it on your chin.” Might another down-and-out, hard-drinking trainer Kevin Rooney (Eckhart, sporting an impressive method gut), be able to shine this rough diamond? What do you think?

The chump does become a champ, but that’s just act one. What makes Pazienza’s career movie-worthy is what happened next: a car crash that left him with a broken neck and doctors telling him he’s not a hope in hell of getting back in the ring. As anyone who’s watched an inspirational sports movie before will know, this is catnip to the underdog.

There’s little in Bleed for This that you haven’t seen before, and lots you’ve seen far too often (a lethal drinking game could be concocted from taking a swig on every cliché). The lead actors bring plenty of soul, but the script's got no punch.