Bleed For This is up against all the same tired tropes and cliches of that dull old boxing movie narrative and, alas, it is also a bio pic. I find bio pics extremely difficult to pull off. Again, they tend to conform to this predictable three-act structure, and the majority of them end up largely fabricated; It's always dizzying just how invented most bio pics end up.
Bleed For This is running up against a brick wall, trying to be both a good bio pic and a good boxing pic. As a boxing pic, it is as standard as they come. He rises, he falls, he is redeemed; sorry to spoil it for you. As a bio pic, it falls into all the trappings of cripspiration. This is the story of the working class, New England lightweight boxer Vinny Pazienza, who broke his neck in a car accident but wore the Halo brace, trained against doctors' orders, and made a comeback in the ring! The story is impressive, and yes, it's inspiring. Yet, it still manages to be utterly mainstream about it all.
Miles Teller, Ciaran Hinds and Aaron Eckhardt are all terrific. The performances are the truly the film's saving grace. This is no Creed.
If you like bio pics and you like boxing pics you will not be disappointed. If you want something fresh, exciting, new that doesn't rely on cliches about the triumph and the human spirit and overcoming disability, you will probably leave unfulfilled.
3/5