A Mid-Card Match
The best family movies are the ones that manage to appeal to both adults and children with an original premise and jokes aimed at both. While The Main Event is easy and fun to watch, it does lack certain elements to attract both and soon becomes very predictable with the usual tropes you’d expect from this kind of fantasy family movie. The story revolves around 11 year old Leo who lives and breathes wrestling. He dreams of one day becoming a WWE star and lives with his Father and Grandma after his Mum abandoned them. After bullies chase him, Leo ends up in a house where he finds a strange Mexican mask. After putting it on, he realizes that it has magical powers, which make him extremely strong and confident; the perfect fit for a WWE star. As Leo embraces his Kid Chaos persona, he enters a wrestling competition to make his dream come true and help his family. One of the main issues with The Main Event is how predictable it is and how this kind of story has been done before, and much more effectively elsewhere. From the “magical object changes the main character’s life” to the “broken family” tropes, these points feel tiring and overly familiar. Despite that though, The Main Event is an unashamedly feel-good picture, one that should appeal to children and especially young WWE fans. Adult fans of wrestling should find some moments to enjoy here too, with plenty of fun and entertaining moments during the matches. Young Seth Carr gives a good performance, making his character likable, while Tichina Arnold brings a lot of energy and personality to her role too. There are quite a few WWE cameos as well, with The Miz, Sheamus, Corey Graves, Renee Young and even Kofi Kingston showing up which does add to the allure for wrestling fans. The Main Event is ultimately for this crowd though and everyone else will likely find a pretty formulaic and by-the-numbers drama. The colour blue dominates large swathes of the picture too, representing Leo’s increasing confidence and his loyalty towards his family, while the music remains upbeat throughout. There’s a few nicely edited scenes, especially during the multiple fights, and the theatrical, over-the-top presentation with Leo’s powers only reinforce the demographic this film is trying to shoot for. Some of the jokes are childish but for kids who like wrestling, this is the perfect film. The Main Event is not a bad family movie but it is not a particularly original or outstanding one either. For most, this is going to be a pretty forgettable wrestling film but kids and fans of WWE should still have a good time with this one. The Main Event is an easy to watch but forgettable family flick but much like wrestling itself, there’s a specific crowd for this and if you’re not part of that crowd, it’s unlikely you’ll find much to savour.
