Knockout (2011)

Directed by: Anne Wheeler | 95 minutes | action, family | Actors: Steve Austin, Daniel Magder, Janet Kidder, Emma Grabinsky, Jaren Brandt Bartlett, Samuel Patrick Chu, Sean Devine, Roman Podhora, Tess Atkins, Julian Domingues, Catherine Lough Haggquist, Scott Hylands, Adrian Formosa, Jay Jauncey, Benjamin Ratner, Bronwen Smith

If anyone seems cut out for the role of Dan Barnes, a former boxer who has since slipped into the profession of a high school janitor, it’s Steve Austin. After all, this former legend within the American wrestling (WWE) where he acquired the nickname ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, is asked to take on the role of mentor/trainer of Matthew Miller (Daniel Magder) in the film ‘Knockout’. And while Matthew has a desire to become a boxing superstar, not wrestling, it’s a great choice to let Steve Austin take on the role of trainer. Matthew isn’t exactly a hero and could use some good guidance. He has just moved to a new environment and school is not an easy one for him. Without friends, he initially has the greatest difficulty finding his place at school and is regularly the victim of bullying. Biggest teaser is Hector (Jaren Brandt Bartlett), a first-class rotten kid who doesn’t make Matthew’s life any easier. This changes, however, when Matthew makes some friends and also meets janitor Dan who urges him to pursue his cherished desire to take up boxing, following in his grandfather’s footsteps.

Dan takes care of Matthew and a friendship seems to be born. The largest part of ‘Knockout’ revolves around training the untalented and a bit nerdy Matthew, something that seems to be a hopeless mission from the outset. Especially in the beginning ‘Knockout’ is a bit of a bite, the film doesn’t open strongly and the scene at school, with the obvious bullying and the stereotypical characters, is of an uninspiring level. In that regard, it’s a matter of patience before Dan gets involved in the story. It’s a bit of a shame that Steve Austin doesn’t really get a chance to demonstrate his own fighting moves. Instead, he focuses on training his pupil, in which he sees the only perspective. With a few exceptions, we do not see him at work. Instead, it’s Matthew who has to hold his own, especially against Hector whose bullying continues to run like a thread through the film.

Although ‘Knockout’ works towards a fairly predictable denouement and many of the dialogues and problems (such as the bad relationship between the adolescent Matthew and his mother and her new boyfriend) are not nearly as well developed, it has become a film that at times still is quite interesting. Despite the limited actors and the few surprises that ‘Knockout’ presents you during the 90 minutes, it flows along quite nicely at times, and manages to come up with a fairly satisfying ending. Unfortunately, ‘Knockout’ has not become more than a snack for fans of boxing films or people who would like to see Steve Austin in a more relaxed role.