Life of a King

What otherwise could've been a mere TV-movie, I'll give a borderline thumbs up to for Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s performance. He brings you around to caring about the plight of this ex-con who forms a chess- playing club for inner-city youths. You realize he's not perfect, has made his share of mistakes, and yes, will probably make more. But at the same time, you empathize with him, and want him to succeed. And chess?-yes, not the most exciting topic for a movie, but the movie is more about the story of the lead character and the other troubled kids in the film- look at it more as a "Dangerous Pawns" (take-off on "Dangerous Minds")..??