This small, lovingly crafted film continually surprises with its depth and resonance.
75
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
Working on a microbudget, director Eddie O'Flaherty coaches solid performances from his small cast and makes the most of the handful of up-close, well-choreographed fight montages.
70
L.A. WeeklyJon Strickland
L.A. WeeklyJon Strickland
Davis, who did some writing for a TV series and acted in a couple of B-thrillers, is notably solid inhabiting Riley's conflicted machismo, supported by Diane Tayler's fine turn as a bottom-rung manager.
60
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
More character study than sports movie, the people in this film come across very much as flesh-and-blood personalities despite the script's tendency to indulge in cliches and let characters deliver highly emotional speeches.
The winner by a knockout is Eddie Jones...Without Jones, pic is a standard drama on the sweet science with the usual tropes and a slight tweak on the usual conflicts.
Despite its flaws, the film gets across some genuine melancholy, played up by a sobbing Irish fiddle.
38
New York Post
New York Post
Tommy Riley is a ten-cent "Baby."
38
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The sort of slick-looking indie that plays well at film festivals, this heavy-handed boxing drama is really just a flyweight bulked up on cliches and false sentimentality.