Bleed For This (2016)

“Bleed For This” stars Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, Katey Sagal, Ciaran Hinds, and Ted Levine.  Released on November 18, 2016, the film is about a boxer who refuses to retire after an accident leaves him seriously injured.

The film is directed by Ben Younger, who also directed Boiler Room and Prime.  It is based on a true story about Vinny Pazienza and his greatest comeback in boxing history after breaking his neck in a car accident.  Before this film, I had never heard of Pazienza until I saw the trailer for the first time.  The concept alone was one of the reasons why I wanted to check it out.  It’s pretty crazy that he went through all of that pain and yet still managed to keep on fighting despite the doctor’s orders.  Whether he’s insane or not, this guy definitely shows that he has boxing in his blood.  There were plenty of boxing movies that I saw that either hit me hard or barely packed any punch (I’m looking at you, Hands of Stone).  So where does this film land out of all of those types of films?  Clearly in the middle.

Pros:
Miles Teller was very talented as Vinny Pazienza and Aaron Eckhart delivered a solid performance as Kevin Rooney.

Good direction from Ben Younger.

Screenplay was passable.

It had some good inspirational moments, but they’re not emotional enough.

Cons:
The story had a few boxing film cliches despite being well-told.

The training sequence with Vinny and Kevin felt a bit rushed.

Final thoughts: It doesn’t reach the same levels as Rocky, Creed, or even Southpaw, but “Bleed For This” overcomes its boxing cliches to deliver a pretty solid punch.  It’s a film about the difference between risks and gambles and Younger did a good job at telling this kind of story.  Miles Teller once again proves that he is an incredible and talented young actor and I would love to see more of him in the future.  If you like certain boxing films or if you enjoy a good inspirational story, try giving this one a shot, but don’t expect it to be the next Rocky.

B