Carman: The Champion

None of the characters in this film is actually named Carman; the title merely refers to the popular Christian contemporary singer who stars in the film and came up with the story. He plays Orlando Leone, a boxing champion who retired after refusing to throw a fight, and now works as a preacher at a gospel church and as head of security at a hotel, in the hopes of making enough money to buy a building that will house the youth center that was his late father's dream. When a chance encounter lands Orlando in a scuffle with former rival and current champion Keshon Banks (boxer Jeremy Williams), an evil promoter jumps at the chance to make a big payday happen. Sounds simple enough, but there are a surprising number of complications, including a young boy who's trying to escape from the gang lifestyle, a reformed convict looking for volunteer work, a shapely love interest, and more conflicting agendas riding on the climactic fight than were immediately apparent. Carman, who has acted in only one prior feature, is surprisingly good: He apparently trained for six weeks, and he actually looks more like a boxer than a pop star, while boasting a line delivery similar to George Clooney's. While the film seldom rises much above adequate, and leaves one or two plot strands hanging, the final fight is excitingly shot and well choreographed, and the film once again goes to show that producer Matthew Crouch (The Omega Code) is thus far the only evangelical Christian capable of putting out religious films that the rest of us can enjoy too. Carman's songs aren't likely to win any secular fans, but he's also managed to assemble some Christian rock bands for the soundtrack that sound remarkably like Powerman 5000, Godsmack, and all those other bands who appear on seemingly every movie soundtrack these days.