Bolstered by the success of The Omega Code, evangelical Christian filmmakers have angled for the mainstream (getting into Blockbusters as well as Christian bookstores) with crowd-pleasing fare like Left Behind: The Movie and the Apocalypse series. But where previous Christsploitation entries have revolved largely around a millennial, Antichrist-centered apocalypse, The Champion inserts a surprisingly mild dose of proselytizing into a sluggish boxing melodrama. The second direct-to-video vehicle for Christian pop star and television personality Carman, The Champion casts the godly renaissance man as a washed-up ex-fighter who has left boxing behind to preach, run a community center, and work as a hotel security guard. On the verge of losing the facility to which he's devoted his life, Carman receives an unexpected break when he knocks out the surly, disrespectful reigning cruiser-weight champion in the course of his security-guard duties. Humiliated, the champ's handlers—who, conveniently enough, include Carman's brother, requisite slumming B-lister Michael Nouri—offer Carman a title shot and enough money to save the community center. Not content to be a mere poor-but-pious-man's Rocky, The Champion ratchets up the kitchen-sink melodrama to ridiculous levels, saddling Carman with a spunky single-mother love interest, a lovable-moppet sidekick, a potentially fatal brain disease, and a murdered father to avenge. And, as if that weren't enough, he also contends with inner-city violence in the form of surly, drug-dealing gangbangers who ignore his call to worship and think nothing of kidnapping his adorable puppy as a prelude to ambushing him. Co-writer Carman may be an enormous superstar in the world of Christian entertainment, but he stumbles badly in his attempt to transcend the Christian-movie ghetto. The Champion's righteous contender is clearly intended to be street-smart but loving, but Carman's curious brand of stone-faced anti-charisma renders him merely bland and self-righteous. Like its recent cinematic brethren, the film aims to combine Hollywood-style storytelling with an overtly Christian message. It's debatable whether Hollywood slickness is a worthy goal, but either way, if ham-fisted, punch-drunk fare like The Champion is any indication, the movement still has a long way to go.