FIGHTING FOR JOURNALISTIC ETHICS.

Byline: BOB STRAUSS

>FILM CRITIC

"Resurrecting the Champ" has a Big Twist that, frankly, I saw coming a mile away.

Fortunately, this isn't a movie that's all about the twist. An inquiry into journalistic principles, father-and-son relations and the strange paths real friendships can diverge onto, "Champ" is a thoughtful human drama and, without getting all mushy about it, deeply felt.

Besides, the tale of the twist is out there for anybody who wants to discover it. "Champ" is based on an experience of reporter J.R. Moehringer, who went on to write the acclaimed memoir "The Tender Bar." Fictionalized by director Rod Lurie, credited screenwriters Michael Bortman and Allison Burnett and others, "Champ" takes events a little further than they went in real life, but the basic story is similar.

Josh Hartnett plays Erik Kernan, a not-so-hotshot sports guy at the Denver Times. His new editor Metz (Alan Alda) is always busting Erik's chops for his wooden prose. His ex-wife Joyce (Kathryn Morris of TV's "Cold Case") is enjoying a more successful career in the same newsroom. Anyway, one night, Erik chases away some young punks he finds beating up an old drunk guy. The bum turns out to be Battling Bob Satterfield, a minor but well-reputed fighter from the 1950s. Played with a high, tentative voice and a large repertoire of shuffles, tics and other uncharacteristically pathetic traits by Samuel L. Jackson, the homeless man still possesses some slick moves but, more importantly, is a font of great ring lore and poignant personal tragedy.

Erik believes he's stumbled upon the story of his career and gets a whole upper level of media bosses excited about it (Teri Hatcher has a nice turn as an amoral sports network exec). As he both assists and exploits Satterfield, though, the reporter genuinely grows close to the self-described Champ.

And then, the Twist ...

Jackson does typically showy work here, but it's so detailed and different from his usual hard-ass posturing that it sure seems like a great performance. The less-storied Hartnett is pretty good, too, conveying Erik's selfishness, underlying decency and slowly rising, mortified panic with a natural but effective ease.

Lurie, once a journalist himself and the man behind such odd but probing political dramas as "The Contender" and "Deterrence," lets "Resurrecting the Champ" unfold at a deliberate pace that invites ethical contemplation. It also gives viewers time to get ahead of the characters in the movie at some points. But again, this film is less about what happens than what it means, and that alone is a refreshing use of the medium these days.

Bob Strauss, [phone]

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RESURRECTING THE CHAMP - Three stars

>PG-13: violence, language.

>Starring: Josh Hartnett, Samuel L. Jackson, Alan Alda, Kathryn Morris, Dakota Goyo, Teri Hatcher, David Paymer.

>Director: Rod Lurie.

>Running time: 1 hr. 51 min.

>Playing: In wide release.

>In a nutshell: Low-key, well-acted drama has a refreshing take on ethics in the real world.