WFG RATING: A-

Lionsgate presents a Hello Moment Productions/Good Weird Films/How Ru Entertainment production in association with Huffman Creative, Its Just Us Productions, and Penned Pictures. Written and directed by Torsten Ruether. Produced by Matthew Berkowitz, Josef Brandmeier, Steve B. Castor, Luise “Luiii” Großman, Torsten Ruether, and Jim Rygiel. Cinematography by Gevord Gev Juguryan and Mattia Polombi. Edited by Savannah Bayse.

Stars VIng Rhames, Luise “Luiii” Großman, Jordan E. Cooper, Joanna Cassidy, Andrew Ibach, and Manny Ayala. 

What may look like a copy of Million Dollar Baby on the surface from the trailer shows you can’t judge a film by its trailer. This exciting drama in the world of boxing is set in two time periods with our lead giving an Uppercut. 

Toni Williams is a young German woman in the streets of Bushwick who is looking for a purpose to life. She pursues a dream of boxing. Finding the gym of a veteran, Elliott Dufford, who at first wants nothing to do with her. However, her persistence and tenacity leads to Dufford deciding to teach her the rigors of boxing. The soon form a bond similar to that of a father and daughter. 

The training is actually a memory for Toni, who started eight years ago and has since become a successful boxing manager. She takes in a young protege, Payne, after he finds the same fire and resistance she had eight years ago. As Payne finally makes his debut in the ring, Toni finds herself at a crossroads between her past and the present. 

When the trailer for this film was released, there are those who automatically thought this would be a Million Dollar Baby clone. However, writer and director Torsten Ruether does something that elevates the film from being exactly what people assume. It is the story of one woman in two time periods as she goes from novice boxer to becoming an authority in the sport as a manager. 

The film definitely has a breakout star in German-born Luise “Luiii” Großman, who is excellent in the role of our protagonist Toni. The film starts out in the present day, where she is ready to watch her new protege make his debut in the ring. With the film serving as a backstory eight years earlier, we see Toni finding no purpose in life at first but she is looking for something and this is when she decides to try boxing at the advice of someone. 

Ving Rhames brings his veteran talents to the mix as Dufford, who sees a fire within after refusing to take Tori as a protege. However, once he sees her persistence, he puts her through the wringer, using both orthodox and unorthodox methods (such as playing a Buddy Guy record to have her get a feel of her footwork) to see if she’s got what it takes. The two develop a somewhat father-daughter-like bond when he’s willing to listen to her personal problems. Meanwhile, kudos goes out to Jordan E. Cooper as Payne, the brash young boxer who Toni takes in after seeing the same spark and persistence she had years ago.

Luise “Luiii” Großman delivers an Uppercut with an amazing breakout performance in this sports drama that is helped by her chemistry with Ving Rhames. Torsten Ruether definitely delivers an uppercut of his own with his script and direction. Sports fans should definitely check this out.

The film is in select theaters, VOD, and Digital today (February 28).