If you like amateur wrestling and saw the movie “Vision Quest” that starred Matthew Modine and Linda Fiorentino, there is a movie that outshines the 1985 popular movie. It is “The Last Champion” and the lead character is veteran actor Cole Hauser. Hauser was also on the cast of Dazed and Confused, Good Will Hunting, and Olympus Has Fallen, just to name a few.
In The Last Champion, Hauser stars as “John Wright” and Olympic wrestler who wins a gold medal only to have it stripped for using performance enhancing drugs. Hailing from a small town in Washington, he was a hometown hero until his medal was taken from him and the town’s people turned their heads away from him and shunned him.
Wright moved away from where he grew up and only the death of his mother brought him back home. The movie follows the troubles Wright has with those who remember him and the town that never forgave him. The focus of the movie is also on a high school wrestler who is enduring a tough home life with his alcoholic mother, older sister, and a much younger sibling as the difficult home life interferes with their personal goals.
If you like a movie with a solid character study, a film that will has lows and emotional highs and provides a feel good inspiration, then you must watch The Last Champion. The acting is stupendous and very real. The storyline is excellent and from beginning to end, you will not one to miss one second of this great movie.
On IMDB it received an average of 7 out of 10 stars on 28 reviews. The movie was released in 2020 and directed by Glenn Withrow. Withrow is also responsible for other great movies like “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “The Outsiders.” Sean Scully plays the wrestling’s main character, Michael Miller. Randal Batnikoff is his prime nemesis in the movie known in the film as Bobby Baker.
The movie took home 11 awards at the Faith in Film Festival of 2022 including Best Actress, Best Director, Best Dramatic Feature, Best Editing, Best Feature Film, Best Actor, and both Best Supporting Actor and Actress. At the Next Generation Indie Film Awards in that same year, The Last Champion took home seven more awards.
For me, I have my personal favorite sports movies with the Rocky series topping the list. Rudy is a great inspirational movie, and I absolutely could watch “Remember the Titans” time and time again. But The Last Champion immediately jumped up into my top 10. This movie is simply that good.
Check it out.
