ºÍƽսʿ Peaceful Warrior review by TIM KNIGHT

In the case of Peaceful Warrior, Victor Salva's adaptation of Dan Millman's spiritual memoir/autobiographical novel, the underlying message is invaluable: clear the "trash" from your mind and live in moment. But, unfortunately, the movie itself leaves something to be desired. An honorable, solidly acted attempt to depict the spiritual awakening of a gifted but arrogant gymnast, Peaceful Warrior begins promisingly, with welcome doses of quirky humor holding the syrupy bathos at bay, yet it ultimately becomes just another average inspirational, sports-themed flick, albeit with an overlay of New Age philosophizing.
Blurring fact and fiction, Peaceful Warrior stars likable newcomer Scott Mechlowicz (Mean Creek) as Dan Millman, the brash, self-centered star of the UC-Berkeley men's gymnastics team. By conventional standards, the Olympic contender appears to be leading a charmed life, yet the "lord of the rings" is increasingly troubled by bizarre nightmares. Unable to sleep, Dan goes running and meets an enigmatic, koan-spouting service station attendant (Nick Nolte) of a mystical bent. Skeptical but intrigued¡ªespecially after the man he nicknames Socrates leaps on top of the Texaco station¡ªDan turns to him to learn how to live a fully conscious, spiritual life as a "peaceful warrior." Thus begins a rigorous, life-changing journey for Dan, who struggles to let go of everything he "knows" to experience true wisdom. Often at odds with his blunt spiritual mentor, Dan will eventually grasp the value of Socrates' teachings, but only after he endures tremendous pain and suffering.

Costarring Amy Smart as Joy, a willowy fellow Socrates acolyte, Peaceful Warrior requires viewers to make a leap of faith that may be too much for the cynics in the audience. (Not that many cynics will be flocking to an earnest, unabashedly metaphysical story that's got "self help" written all over it.) However, Salva (Powder) and screenwriter Kevin Berhardt leaven the potentially cringe-inducing moments by giving Dan's relationship with Socrates a spiky, abrasive edge¡ªat least initially. The filmmakers are aided in no small part by Mechlowicz and Nolte, who play their roles with down-to-earth conviction. Mechlowiciz is particularly impressive, going head-to-head with his grizzled costar, who could have easily overpowered a less capable actor. Unfortunately, as Peaceful Warrior limps towards the two-hour mark, it becomes increasingly hokey and clichéd, as Dan comes back from the brink of despair to embrace his¡ªyawn¡ªinner peaceful warrior. All of the standard "underdog" narrative motifs are here, from the montages to the slo-mo sequences of Dan performing gymnastics.

Of course, such criticisms will probably be meaningless to fans of Millman's book, which has spawned several best-selling sequels. And certainly, there's sage advice to be gleaned from the author's message that "there are no ordinary moments." But as Peaceful Warrior makes explicitly clear, there are ordinary movies.

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