I'm in my 50's and I enjoyed watching this. And that's saying something, as I'm not easily entertained by movies about High School kids and teenage angst. (Not since Fast Times at Ridgemont High, My Bodyguard, and The Breakfast Club from the 80's.) As others have said, this movie is not over the top, nor does it attempt to be. It even takes a friendly poke at some that are, like when our hero jumps up out of his chair after sharing his first kiss with his new girlfriend and shouts something like "Yo, Adrienne!" The Mom not understanding what a son has to endure when transferring to a new school is an important issue that is addressed here. Dads can relate no doubt, but for the single Moms out there, please take note. If your kid wants to learn how to fight, don't discourage him. He most likely has a very good reason. There's hardly any swearing, no gore, no sex, which is refreshing for a film of this genre. Steve Austin's character as the coach is believable, as you know he's lived the life. "For 3 minutes a round, it's just you and your opponent." Wish the kid would have thrown more punches after all that training... he seemed to be mostly on the defensive. Had he noticeably blossomed into a really tough fighter, I might have given this a couple extra stars just to witness the dramatic transformation. As it stands, it is a pleasant, mildly entertaining story about courage and survival within the hallways and gymnasiums of the U.S. secondary school system.

Nothing new about this recent D-to-D starring Steve Austin as Mr. Miyagi, oops, Dan Barns, a former boxer turned janitor who puts a nerdy kid under his wing and teach him the noble art as a way of learning how to handle life itself.

The good thing is that the flick has a heart, is well rounded and the characters are sympathetic enough to warrant some entertainment.

Of course we movie gobblers have seen the same story done dozens of times, but who does not love to see an underdog get the prize?

The highlight is that Steve Austin is charismatic enough and keeps it real most of the time, compensating the less than thrilling protagonist.

The dialog is cross and direct from a bad self-help book; however, is said with some dignity and Austin shows he is not only a killing machine, he has potential to not embarrass himself in more meaty roles.

A nice time waster, if you do not have anything else to do and likes to tackle this kind of movie.

Well lets start with the positive. The budget was 9mil. For 9 mil it actually looks decent. Editing cuts are late at times, but simply done which is refreshing from the quick paced clipping action scene cuts we get in the every big budget movie. With what they had to work with I guess its OK.

Stone Cold Steve Austin was the best actor in the flick. Hector the bully did a nice job for what he was working with. The main character is painful to watch in this role. I don't want to bash the kid but a boxer he is not, awkward he is, but in all the wrong ways. The mother is 4 out of 10 and the rest of the cast is blah. The girl the main character falls for has a unique look so she can get a bonus point, blah +1, might like to see her again in a better part to decide.

Script is weak, directing is off, sets look decent, make up not good and effects... there are none. It feels like it's an after school special from the 80's without the warmth or the character development. Somehow the movie did have heart though. I'll attribute it to the main character and Steve Austin standing up for what is right.

My big issue here is that it is a boxing movie and our lead character can't even throw a punch. I mean who the heck did the casting? Did the kids dad pay for the movie? It looks like he just put his xbox remote down and went on set. I really have to stress that the child can literally not throw a normal jab, hook, or any normal looking punch, and has no athletic ability. The main fight looks is like watching 2 tards throw haymakers at each other and for 5 minutes. OK I am harsh but there are so many talented kids out there how could he get the part. He should be cast as an awkward science geek genius that figures out a mathematical way to rob banks. That would be more convincing, but I doubt there will be a future for him in the movie industry.

Like the other guy said this makes Breakin 2 Electric Boogaloo look like Oscar material. :)