One More Round

“One More Round” tells the story of Jake Taylor (Tommy Lee Thomas), a former boxer who, after abandoning his boxing career, struggles over the years to find a new direction. He works as a furniture salesman but does not perform up to his boss’s expectations and is constantly threatened with being fired. Jake also faces tension with his family as his wife and mother-and-law doubt his ability to continue supporting the family financially. With his current path through life providing no stability, he begins to wonder if he should return to boxing.

While contemplating how to turn his life around, some of his co-workers and former boxing associates encourage him to seek God for help. Having lost interest in spirituality long ago, Jake reconsiders the Christian faith in hope of finding a source of inspiration in his life.

This movie leaves me with a positive impression overall. At times, the movie’s attempts to reflect the struggles of real people inadvertently results in stilted or over-dramatic dialog, but there are deeper principles underlying the film. There is a strong Christian message, which does not beat viewers over the head about needing to change themselves to be devoted to God, but, rather, emphasizes how we can trust God to work through our present circumstances to become what He has made us to be. At one point, Jake expresses concern that he cannot be a “perfect Christian,” but a Christian character explains how there are no perfect Christians, and that is why Christ had to die for the sins of humanity. The movie’s spiritual dialog is a good illustration of Romans 8:2-3 (NRSV):

“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.”

As Jake discovers, we cannot force ourselves to fully conform to the law (which consists of all the rules for what people should and should not do) because of weakness in our bodies and minds. But because Christ died for our sins, and in a sense we died with Him, we can now come into a new kind of life in which the Spirit enables us to overcome problems with sin (Romans 6:6-8). The movie’s characters also explain how this can be a gradual rather than instantaneous experience in our lives.

The story of “One More Round” invites comparisons with “Where Hope Grows,” a faith-based film released earlier this year. “Where Hope Grows” has a more generalized portrayal of Christianity, and perhaps a broader appeal as a result, but “One More Round” could be more compelling to audiences who look for clear expressions of Biblical principles.

I am giving “One More Round” three stars for moviemaking quality, which according to Christian Spotlight means “Good – normal/average for its genre.” The message of the movie is inspiring, so if you watch movies primarily for the message, this stands out as a movie worth seeing.

Possible content concerns

Violence: Mild blood in a few boxing scenes.

Sexual Content: Mention of teen pregnancy. Implication that a character has had many sexual relations. Mild flirtation between a man and a woman separated from her husband. All of this is related to the story or characterizations; none of it is for humor.

Language: A boxer’s stage name is “BA Fontana.” I don’t think he’s a Bachelor of Arts. There are some intense instances of characters shouting at each other which might bother young kids.

Violence: Minor / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: Minor

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.