Sign up to add this to your collection
|
Sign up to add this to your favorites
|
|
72%
Overall Rating
|
|
Ranked #3,081
...out of 20,698 movies
|
Sign up to check in!
|
Dan Millman has it all: good grades, a shot at the Olympic team on the rings and girls lining up for the handsome Berkeley college athlete all teams mates look up to with envy. Only one man shakes his confidence, an anonymous night gas station attendant, who like Socrates, keeps questioning every assumption in his life. Then a traffic crash shatters Dan's legs, and his bright future. Now Socrates's life coaching is to make or break Dan's revised ambition.
--IMDb
|
|
There are some books that make a difference in your life. There are some books that make a lasting impression and you can never seem to forget their message. "Horton Hears A Who" was one of those books for me. For a lot of other people, that book seems to be "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman. Hugely popular in the 1970's and 1980's, the book is more of a philosophical meditation on a better way of life. The new film is directed by Victor Salva, whom most people know of being a convicted child molester. That aside, with "Jeepers Creepers" and even aspects of "Jeepers Creepers 2", Salva showed the world that he still had immense talent and was not going away, despite his somewhat jaded reputation. "Peaceful Warrior" is more on par with one of his earlier films, "Powder", in that it has the same dramatic tone and similar executions.
Scott Mechlowicz stars as Dan Millman, a champion gymnast who specializes on the rings. He has everything going for him. His father has tons of money, he's in great physical shape, he makes good grades, and he can have sex with virtually any girl he wants. However, something seems to be missing. One night, while he is making a late night run to the local food mart, he runs into Socrates (Nick Nolte) -- not the philosopher, but a gas station attendant who is far too smart to be working at a gas station. After Dan witnesses Socrates do something extraordinary, he starts visiting the station more often, soliciting advice from the gentleman. Socrates eventually starts to teach Dan some things -- basic philosophical principles and how to practice them. When Dan is injured in a motorcycle accident and is told he will never compete again, it's up to Socrates to help him find his way.
That plot summation is probably a little too generic for this picture. "Peaceful Warrior" is a curious film. On the one hand, it feels far too preachy and far too sincere for its own good. On the other hand, it's just preachy enough and just sentimental enough to not make you tear your hair out. Scott Mechlowicz, who was horrible in "Euro Trip" and amazing in "Mean Creek", carries the lead role very well (and it doesn't hurt that he's gorgeous) and always seems to be in control. He has a very interesting acting style, but it serves well for this character. Nick Nolte is the highlight of the film as Socrates, showing once again why he is one of the greatest living actors working today. Any other actor would have been unable to speak such cliched lines with such depth and humanity. Nolte manages it and it saves the film from itself. Amy Smart really has nothing to do here, and Ashton Holmes and Paul Wesley play the token best friends who seem like they are hand plucked from the latest CW show.
Some people might be thrown off by the fact that "Peaceful Warrior" features a lot of scantily clad gymnasts tumbling and jumping -- especially when the director of the film is both a homosexual and a convicted pedophile. All of Salva's films have this odd homosexual undercurrent, even in films like "Powder" and especially in films like "Jeepers Creepers". It's just something you have to accept when you're watching a Victor Salva film. "Peaceful Warrior" is probably the most blatant demonstration of youthful vigor and physical specimen that Salva has given us thus far, but I really don't know how much of that is seedy and how much of that is just Salva's visual and directorial style. Regardless, Salva's direction is uneven here. I don't know that he was familiar enough with the book to take on directing the film adaptation. I also can't help but think there would have been a better director for the job.
So, the good:
-Scott Mechlowicz shirtless for large chunks of the film.
-Nick Nolte kicking it old school.
-Some nice visuals with the gas station.
So, the bad:
-too preachy and sanctimonious for me.
-the climax feels forced and absolutely cliched.
-after school special feel at times.
6/10.
|
|
Rate Movie? 
