About twenty years ago, or more, someone handed me the book “The Way of the Peaceful Warrior.” I remember being impressed that it was given to me and the wink that came along with it. But I also remember not finishing the book. I liked the story, perhaps it was the writing that bogged me down. I don’t recall. But I always felt I’d missed something by letting that book go un-read. So when I saw the title “Peaceful Warrior” playing at my local theatre, I decided that this story was giving me one more chance. So I took it.

And I’m glad I did. This is a fine film. Admittedly, I suspected it might be kind of cheesy, but the film is directed with great grace and care. And the acting is solid. Nick Nolte as the “old wise guy” rocks. A great casting choice and he nails it. Scott Mechlowicz as Dan Millman, the overconfident, under-enlightened Olympic hopeful is also a good cast and he does a swell job. It’s a very good film that everyone ought to see and I have almost nothing to say in the negatives department. Except this: the motion of the film experiences a jump, a jog or some small jitter nearer the end at a scene where the whole team is in a van. Perhaps at my particular screening (the Academy theatre in Pasadena), the reel change dropped a prior scene. And lastly, the film ends so elegantly on a fade to black, the caption that follows subtracts much more than it adds.

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