Doubleshot: Legendary and Knucklehead

I'm a big WWE fan, and have in the past checked out some of the films they've put out. Today I decided to review two of their movies that just hit netflix instant viewing about a month ago in a double review. First off is:


Legendary
This is the latest WWE film staring John Cena (The Marine, 12 Rounds) and the first, (Knucklehead being the second) to begin a new strategy for the fledgling studio; casting WWE stars in supporting roles with a strong supporting cast. However it really falls short of any expectations. I enjoyed Cena's latest outing in 12 Rounds, it had a great action flick feel with some really funny cheese tossed on. It wasn't anything like Die Hard, but it was what it was. Saying Legendary is what it is, is like saying a rotten egg is what it is. With that being said lets dive right into it. John Cena plays Mike Chetly a troubled young man who was an all-star wrestler in high school. His brother Cal played by Devon Graye is described in a summary as a 'book smart' teenager despite nothing outside of him being interested in restoring a pond and winning a prize in a science fair shows him to be exceptionally smart.

Cal decides to join his high school wrestling team as a way to connect to his estranged older brother. His mother, played by Patricia Clarkson, hates the idea claiming that wrestling destroyed their family. The story is that Mike and his father went scouting one of Mike's rivals and ended up in a car accident that killed the father, because Mike "really wanted to go and check him out". Mike blamed himself for his father's death and quit wrestling the following year. This is almost where the story lost me because if he was so distraught over his father's death why did he keep wrestling? Its never stated nor established that he probably continued because his father would've wanted him to. Anyway after that Mike drifted apart from the family. Cal seeks out his brother to help him train in wrestling and to re-connect with him. Mike recluctantly begins to train him and the two bond.

The story is old and tired, I've seen it before other places. The relationship Cal shares with his mother nears the border of incestuous. John Cena as Mike is often portrayed as the "wrong place, wrong time" type of guy despite the fact that he deliberately puts himself in situations where he knows the outcome. Then theres the supporting cast. Danny Glover dials in a performance. It's nothing special, almost typical of his style of acting. And then theres Cal's girlfriend played by Madeline Martin. The story takes place in Oklahoma and her accent is entirely forced and really bad. The ending is predictable with Cal loosing his wrestling match against a rival. It almost would've been better if they had him win because it just comes off as a cheap attempt to be like Rocky.   

It's bad because I've always thought that John Cena was a pretty good actor. He's not gonna win an award anytime soon or anything, but still hes not bad at all. It's just that, the material hes been given thus far is just so bad and hokey that its almost funny. I don't believe an actor as good as Al Pacino could even rise above the bad material. Cena and Graye are the only ones in the film that seem to be actually trying to become their characters, everyone else just seems to be acting the part of an actor in a WWE film. 12 Rounds I liked because despite the bad plot that Cena was placed in, he made it work somewhat. This one was just bad all around, it was clearly written by one of their TV writers and not a real screenwriter. This one is a 1/5.

And then there was:

Knucklehead

First off the Big Show is a real funny guy. In interviews he does in the media his sense of humor always shines through and clearly thats what this movie aiming to grasp at. However, with some tired jokes it only grasps at straws. Without saying I expected this movie to be pretty funny given who was in it. Along with Big Show there was Mark Feurstien (Royal Pains), Melora Hardin (The Office) and Bobb'e J. Thompson (Role Models). Some pretty funny people in a story where Big Show plays the worlds biggest orphan. He lives and works in an Orphanage where he was never adopted due to his large size. The Orphanage falls on harsh times due to a fire started by Big Show, and just in time Mark Feurstien shows up to bring Big Show on the road as an MMA fighter. Mark is in deep with some sharks in the fighting ring, and hopes Show can bail him out with a big pay day, Melora joins them along for the ride.

Any humor is thrown almost out the window when the first fight comes up. It's in a Jewish church and almost everyone inside is a really bad stereotype of the Jewish culture. I'm not Jewish myself, but even I thought it was a bit offensive. Show does well and the trip continues on a long un-funny downward spiral. Theres really not much to say about it. The cliche jokes are running amok with Shows height and weight. Including, yes, the typical big guy has got the shits scene. I wonder if when it was been written they just decided to throw every old joke in the book into this movie and hope it was funny. Theres only two funny parts in it really; Bobb'e J. Thompson's scenes. And a scene where Big Show is in a side car of a motorcycle. With all that being said for me it's a simple 1/5.

What did you think of Legendary and Knucklehead?