Release Date:
Friday, June 2, 2006
In what could be described as a self-help movie, Nick Nolte plays a mysterious gas station owner who guides an Olympic gymnastics hopeful (Scott Mechlowicz) to a higher plane of achievement with Mr. Miyagi–esque homilies. When the young athlete suffers a career-ending accident, he uses Nolte's cosmic teachings to make an impossible comeback attempt. Based on Dan Millman's 25-year-old fictional memoir, this earnest and well-meaning film certainly will be a powerful and moving experience for those who believe true strength and victory come from inside. (The rest of us will be learning how to control our gag reflexes.) In the end, the filmmakers deliver a good-looking but plodding study of pure determination in the face of enormous odds. It's the spiritual thrill ride of the summer.