Hurricane, The

It may be ironic, but it's just as disappointing that, in the end, "The Hurricane" fails to deliver the knockout punch.

That's not to say that this well-intentioned biographical drama — based on a pair of books about falsely imprisoned boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (including his memoirs, "The 16th Round") — is a bad movie.

In fact, it features a terrific lead performance by Denzel Washington as the one-time middleweight champion. Which, given the films the Oscar-winning actor has appeared in lately, is a cause for celebration all by itself. (It's nice just to see him be good in a decent movie for a change.)

But too often "The Hurricane" falls prey to creeping Hollywoodisms — such as annoying plot contrivances and a tendency to play fast-and-loose with the facts — that lessen the film's overall impact.

To its credit, though, the movie does have Washington, who is riveting playing Carter over a tumultuous 20-plus-year period of his life.

Having already overcome a traumatic (and crime-ridden) childhood, Carter returns a different man after serving time in the U.S. Army. For one thing, he's discovered his aptitude for boxing and begins making a career for himself with that skill.

He even rises to the top of the middleweight division, at least until the past catches up with him — in the person of a detective (Dan Hedaya) still nursing a grudge. Despite a lack of evidence, Carter is arrested and convicted of the murder of three people in a New Jersey bar.

So for 20 years he languishes in prison — cutting himself off from all outside contact, including his wife (Debbi Morgan) and children — until he is convinced to come out of his shell by Lesra Martin (Vicellous Reon Shannon), an alienated American teenager living in Canada.

Having read Carter's memoirs Martin is convinced of the man's innocence, and with help from his surrogate Canadian family (Deborah Kara Unger, Liev Schreiber and John Hannah), he persuades Carter's attorneys to make one last attempt to free him.

It is a great story, but screenwriter Dan Gordon ("Murder in the First") treats the material in a pretty pedestrian fashion — in particular, his characterizations are superficial, even caricatures.

So it's up to veteran director Norman Jewison ("In the Heat of the Night," "Moonstruck" and most recently "Bogus") and Washington to add some class to the proceedings.

Fortunately, they seem to be up to the task, since Jewison's in-ring and in-court scenes are probably more exciting than they have a duty to be.

Much of that is due to Washington, who is extremely convincing playing both the twentysomething and fortysomething Carter. And he shows a surprising physical flair in the fight re-creations.

However, the supporting performances are a mixed bag. The relatively unknown Shannon is very good as Martin, but both Schreiber and Hannah struggle with bad Canadian accents, and the one-note Hedaya makes an extremely cliched villain.

"The Hurricane" is rated R for violent boxing action and some gunplay, profanity, a gory crime scene, use of racial epithets and brief male nudity.