Here Comes The Boom

Frank Coraci's Here Comes The Boom (US, 2012) - Hands of stone meet heads of air in "Here Comes the Boom," a sports story so daffy it may as well star Kevin James. Reuniting the Everyman thesp with "Zookeeper" director Frank Coraci, this "Rocky"-esque tale is a triumph of recycling, with James playing a biology teacher-turned-UFC fighter out to save his high school's music program. The visibly buffed actor obviously trained for the role, and the onscreen violence adds a frisson of tension to the pic's mix of grappling, romance and anemic social critique. Genial tone will help slip a half nelson on opening weekend B.O.; just-respectable numbers seem likely. RATING: 5.