The Details

Legendary

Devon Graye, John Cena, Patricia Clarkson

Directed by Mel Damski

Rated PG-13

Beyond the Weekly

Legendary

IMDb: Legendary

Rotten Tomatoes: Legendary

The filmmaking arm of World Wrestling Entertainment moves directly from cheap, testosterone-fueled action movies to full-on Hallmark Channel-style schmaltz with Legendary, an awkward transition that comes with no concurrent rise in quality. Inspirational sports drama might be an ill-advised genre for the company to take on, because at least its stable of wrestler-actors can easily handle the ass-kicking portions of those generic action pictures. Here, pro wrestler John Cena (star of The Marine and 12 Rounds) struggles to emote beyond a grimace as Mike Chetley, a former high school wrestling star (as in Olympic-style wrestling) who’s alienated himself from his family after a car accident that took the life of his father, a fellow wrestling champ.

When Mike’s scrawny younger brother Cal (Devon Graye) decides he too wants to try out for wrestling, he seeks out the reluctant Mike to reconnect. Cal and Mike’s mom (Patricia Clarkson, way too good for this material) protests her younger son’s joining the wrestling team as if he’d just announced he was going to take up drug dealing, but of course she eventually comes around, as does Mike. Will the whole family come together and heal its wounds? The answer is as contrived as the outcome of a WWE match.

Veteran TV director Mel Damski drowns the movie in a sappy score, alternating with overblown rock and hip-hop tunes, and doesn’t skimp on the montages. The dramatic tension is never very high, and the tone is bland and family-friendly. Clarkson does her best, but even she can’t overcome the terrible dialogue, and Danny Glover fares even worse as the mysterious old sage who pops up every now and then to offer Cal advice. Clearly the folks at WWE Studios want to prove that they’re good for more than head-bashing and explosions, but there’s something to be said for sticking to your strengths.