Movie Review: Big George Foreman

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A well-made, if flawed, biopic of boxer and preacher George Foreman.

I admit that before this movie came around all I knew about George Foreman was seeing his face advertising grills and that one episode of King of the Hill. I have never been interested in sports and have never seen a boxing match. Watching this film though it is very easy to understand why it was decided to make a movie based on him. His story has all the hallmarks of a classic redemption story of the type we have seen in movies before but still have not grown tired of. While this story is told in a familiar way here, that does not mean that it wasn't effective. Especially helping here is a great performance by Khris Davis as George Foreman himself. He is simply fantastic in this role and carries himself with a great amount of charisma and likability. While this is a redemption story and the main character has demons to overcome, due heavily to this performance, we still like and relate to this character even in his weakest moments. He also handles the more dramatic and heartbreaking moments incredibly well, bringing a real humanity to them. This film also does a great job of showing the difficulties of redemption and repentance. This movie takes a realistic look at this part of the story, showing that it is not always an easy road and there are bound to be missteps along the way. 

This is even shown in little moments and it is these moments that help make this movie much more heartfelt. The film also captures the charm of these types of stories and makes it easy to understand why they still appeal to so many people. That is because it knows how to be sentimental without ever feeling cloying. Add a good sense of humor and you get a really charming movie.

This movie certainly does have some big faults though. Much of this is due to trying to tell the story of a good portion of someone's life in a little over two hours. Because of this the movie can feel really rushed at times. This is especially true of the film's conclusion. This also makes it so that many of the supporting characters don't get the time they need to feel fully fleshed out, making not as interesting as they should have been. Also because of this movie's familiarity even if you don't know the true life story, you normally know what is going to happen next. It also makes it hard for the film to stand out among so many simular movies. 

This film may have its flaws, but it is also a very effective biopic with a perfectly cast lead actor.