Movie Review: "Won't Back Down"

(freep.com) "Won't Back Down" is a well-directed and edited film that gives most of its cast moments to shine and takes full advantage of the mercurial  Maggie Gyllenhaal and simmering but fiery Viola Davis. Daniel Barnz, who also cowrote this "inspired by a true story" with Brin Hill, goes to some pains to pay lip service to the greater complexity here.

As complex as this simple us-against-the-odds tale tries to be, it can't overcome the rules of its genre and many of the same over-generalizations of the hyped documentary "Waiting for Superman."

Still, the big moments work, the big scenes pay off and the big emotions are earned in this plucky movie about a couple of people realizing that they can make a difference.