WALK LIKE A PANTHER revolves around a group of ‘80s wrestlers who are forced to don the lycra one last time when their beloved local pub is threatened by closure. Led by father-son duo, Mark (Stephen Graham) and Trevor Bolton (Dave Johns), this unlikely bunch of underdog heroes sets out to save their community, rekindling old friendships and family ties along the way.
Such ridiculousness should be funny, but it's not, possibly because the world it's lampooning was so laughable in the first place. Best entertainment in the world? This isn't even the best entertainment in Marsden.
There is little chance to explore the poignancy of the situation or find any real heart in the shenanigans, as it strictly adheres to a cheer-the-underdog formula.
Just when it seemed like we were done with knock-offs of The Full Monty, along comes Walk Like a Panther to pound the crumbling bones of its already decomposed corpse into dust.
It is all so relentlessly toe-curling that at the end I found myself walking out of the cinema like Mr Tumnus, gingerly picking his way through the Narnian snowpack.
Walk Like a Panther is another in the increasingly long list of films about likeable British underdogs, fighting back against the odds to save their communities.
