WWE's Cena's Latest Film, 'Legendary' (2010), a Mediocre Version of 'Karate Kid'

Cal Chetley (Devon Graye) is somewhat of a nerdy teenager who often gets picked on by others. He decides to joins his high school's wrestling team to stand up to those who pick on him, show off to his friend/girlfriend, compete like his father and older brother, Mike (John Cena), both school wrestling stars, and to bring his brother and mother, Sharon, (Patricia Clarkson) together as a family. After Mike and Cal's father died in a car accident when they were 18 and just a toddler, Mike blamed himself and moved away from his mother and brother. For the past 10 years, Mike has been working odd jobs, turning to alcohol and getting into trouble fighting in bars. Cal needs his brother's coaching, Mike needs find a job, stay out of trouble and overcome his guilt and their mother needs to forgive Mike for Their father's death.

Based on the trailers I saw for "Legendary," I had higher expectations. The trailers really seemed motivational and uplifting and I wanted to see this movie. It turned out to be mediocre and I am neutral, not really positive or negative.

The story being told is motivational but it's also unoriginal. Basically, "Legendary" is a take on the "Karate Kid" and movies of that type but with a wrestling perspective. Since this movie stars a pro wrestler, it's only fitting for the movie to be about amateur wrestling.

Everything about "Legendary" is taken slowly, as if the cast and crew were trying to be careful not to make mistakes and try some character development. There is some character development with Cal and his mother -- there is some with Mike as well but Cena just does not possess enough acting ability to pull it off well enough to be completely believable.

The story is a simple one and I think it would have been better fit as a half hour TV episode. Basically, Cal is a teenager trying to bring his family back together again through wrestling -- perfectly logical!

John Cena role as Mike Chetley is a limited and relatively brief one compared to his first 2 action movies. It's definitely apparent that he is trying to do more dramatic roles but I don't think he can pull it off yet. Still, I did feel a bit for his character because Cena just has an endearing quality with his mannerisms and personality but it's not enough to carry this film from mediocrity into great.

I just realized something really ironic. John Cena plays a 28-year-old man who was a amateur wrestling champion when he was in high school but we never really see him wrestle in the movie. He is shown teaching his brother to wrestle with a few moves but outside of those few scenes he doesn't wrestle, Cena brawls a few times in a bar and suddenly his wrestling skills disappear. I know people fighting in bars rarely use wrestling moves but I would imagine some holds could be used. This is probably why a smaller guy is brought in to spar with Cal.

Since Cena isn't a great actor, other really good actors and actresses were obviously brought in to carry this film and Cena's inadequacies.

Devon Graye, who plays Cal Chetley, is a relative no-name actor but his first claim to fame was his role as teenage Dexter on the hit show, Dexter (2006-2007). It does a great job in this movie and shows a lot of emotion but his character doesn't develop much over the course of the movie -- his personality stays about the same but he does gain a bit of confidence.

Patricia Clarkson is a veteran actress, who plays Sharon Chetley, has had roles in numerous movies including, "The Green Mile" (1999) and "Shutter Island" (2010). Her acting skills shine in this movie and she gives the best performance here.

Madeleine Martin plays Luli Stringfellow, the strange coming of age friend of Cal who wants to be his girlfiend. I don't know much of about Martin but she plays Becca Moody, a regular on the popular TV show "Californication." Her acting is sufficient but her voice is annoying. I suppose she did add a level of innocence that helped keep Cal grounded and not a great big show off like his brother.

Danny Glover needs no introduction as a veteran plays Harry 'Red' Newman, an elderly fisherman who takes from and gives to Cal as they fished together in the same area. It later turns out that he was the wrestling coach of Cal and Mike's father. Glover was definitely added to the cast to bring some notoriety to the movie.His character is somewhat of a passive mentor to Cal and gives him good grandfatherly advice.

Going back to the similaries of "Legendary" with "Karate Kid," Glover and Cena share the role Mr. Miyagi. Glover offer guidance about life and why he wants to wrestle. Cena is the wrestling trainer who is tough on Cal. Neither Glover or Cena is tough on Cal like Mr. Miyagi was on Daniel but Glover does give the gentle guidance Mr. Miyagi did at times. Honestly, I think this movie would have been a lot bigger if Glover did the complete role of "Mr. Miyagi" with the guidance and wrestling training. Cena could've still played Cal's older brother Mike but should not have been his sole coach.

The expected big ending was anti-climactic and disappointing for me. However, the ending is quite realistic because in competition not everyone can be the winner. The point of this movie is struggling and never giving up, not necessarily winning. This is a good lesson to learn but makes for a boring ending.

"Legendary" is a bit long at 107 minutes and is rated PG-13 for suggestive material, brief partial nudity and some fighting scenes. PG-13 is an acceptable rating for this movie and it's at a level appropriate for young children on up. There is no bad language that I can recall and the nudity is very brief. It's at the same level as "Karate Kid."

"Legendary" was released in the U.S. Theatrically on September 10th, 2010 with limited capacity and the DVD was released September 28th, making this one of the shortest periods between theater and DVD release. The DVD is sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and the Blu-Ray is sold exclusively at Best Buy. Both will be available at national retailers starting on December 28th. It's a very release schedule to me. It sounds like the WWE isn't very confident with this film.

Overall, "Legendary" is worth a view if you have time to kill but don't expect much. Fans of Cena will probably like this but fans of Glover will be disappointed because his role is minimal. It is a good motivational movie for young people and very safe for children of all ages provided they can sit through the slow parts.

Rating: 2/5