WFG RATING: A-

 An Original 4 Productions film. Directed by Michael Trainor. Produced by Ryan Robbins, Michael Trainor, Bradley Stryker, and Mark Edward Murphy. Written by Bradley Stryker and Michael Trainor. Cinematography by Mark Edward Murphy. Edited by Michael Sangalang.

Stars Tom Stevens, Bradley Stryker, Tahmoh Penikett, Tanya Clarke, Aleks Paunovic, Sara Canning,  and Morgan Taylor Campbell. 

A young man goes to great lengths to find redemption and help someone in the process in this emotional drama from director Michael Trainor. 

Nate was a champion boxer who had it all. However, one day changed his life forever. Being at the wrong place and wrong time, Nate was shot and the bullet fragments left him paralyzed from the waist down. Convinced he lost it all, Nate finds himself in a downward spiral. However, with some good advice from his ex-football player stepdad, Nate decides to try boxing again.

When he’s turned down by his coach Bryce, a meeting at a trauma group center leads him to a boxing gym run by former champion Anton, who suffers from Parkinson’s. Anton is in danger of losing his gym to Bryce. Training to adapt to box from his wheelchair, Nate is determined not just to redeem himself, but with the help of social media manager Naomi, help Anton save his gym. Together, Anton and Nate are determined to become a dream team like no other. 

It is always good to see a redemption story and Michael Trainor’s film has quite the story of a former champion whose life changing event leads to his road of redemption. However, where we have seen sports such as baseball, basketball, football, and even mixed martial arts, this one takes a different sport in the form of adaptive wheelchair boxing. Originally conceived a short in 2021, this is actually a really good feature film with heart. 

Tom Stevens is excellent as our protagonist Nate. Going from having it all to neatly throwing it all away after a shooting renders him paralyzed, we see his downward spiral at first. He soon starts to show regret and with the help of his stepfather, played by veteran Aleks Paunovic and his sometimes overactive mom Maria, played by Tanya Clarke, Nate begins to find his road to redemption. 

Bradley Stryker is great as Anton, a former boxing champion who has a connection to Nate in that they both suffer from a disability. Anton tends to be somewhat of a stubborn fool despite the fact he could lose his gym. He finds the idea of a wheelchair boxing match ridiculous when he discovers it could mean raising money to save the gym. However, when push comes to shove, Anton learns that it could be worth saving after a confrontation with Nate’s former coach Bryce, who is the one who is set to take over Anton’s gym all because of a past grudge.

Where we see Nate at first in a relationship before his accident, when he ends it in his big ot regret and sorrow, he eventually at least finds another friend. In Sara Canning’s Naomi, one would think there could be possible sparks, but that’s actually not the case and that’s actually a good thing. A protagonist in a sports film doesn’t always have to have a lost interest just as long as he or she has the support needed to either go from zero to hero or find redemption within themselves. 

13th Round is very emotional and has you rooting for a hero who lost it all only to find redemption not just for himself but someone who has similar struggles. Some great performances definitely drive the film and this is one drama worth checking out.