Peaceful Warrior Critic Reviews

Strong performances by Scott Mechlowicz as Millman and Nick Nolte as the mysterious mechanic who changes his life ground the film in effective drama.Read the full review

Sometimes in an imperfect movie there is consolation simply in regarding the actors.Read the full review

In the ranks of improbable gymnastics coaches, Nick Nolte falls just below the cartoon version of Mr. T.Read the full review

The film is better than it has any right to be, considering the prosaic source.Read the full review

Mere recitation of homilies for better living -- which is what Nick Nolte's gas station guru imparts to a struggling young gymnast -- and a half-baked account of the athlete's comeback are no substitutes for a complete movie.Read the full review

All this stuff is probably right. It's just that the director, Victor Salva, underscores his points with thunderous obviousness and manipulates us through ham-handed plot gambits.Read the full review

The "What The Bleep Do We Know?" crowd may well receive the film's wisdom like communion, but the rest of us are free to gag when Salva tries to jam it down our throats.Read the full review

For all its manifest corniness, this is an achingly sincere and supremely unembarrassed effort to transform an audience for the good. Its heart is very much in the right place - a place that movies all but ignore - but its mind is a mush.Read the full review

The film's biggest miracle is the straight face Nick Nolte maintains in his role as Socrates.Read the full review