Two opposing forces grapple in the inspirational sports drama "Legendary."

In one corner is the corporate enterprise behind John Cena, which would like to turn the hulking pro wrestler into a crossover star like Dwayne Johnson.

In the other are Cena's co-stars, particularly Patricia Clarkson, who maneuver the movie toward slice-of-life realism. The clash of aspirations results in a draw.

Although Cena gets top billing, he plays a secondary and underdeveloped character, Mike Chettley, a former high school wrestling champ who is estranged from his family and stuck doing roughneck labor in small-town Oklahoma.

The story is actually about his younger brother Cal (Devon Graye, a bookish beanpole of the Jesse Eisenberg-Michael Cera sort), who wants to reconnect with his brother and with the memory of their late father through the sport they both loved.

That wouldn't please Cal's mother, Sharon (Clarkson), who partially blames wrestling for the death of her husband 10 years earlier. So Cal sneaks off to team practice and to extra training sessions with Mike, who is initially reluctant to open old wounds.

The wrestling tutorial is handled realistically, and the script isn't so driven by the underdog formula that scrawny Cal is catapulted into the state championship. Likewise, Clarkson does some actual acting to flesh out the fretful-mom character, and Madeleine Martin adds some welcome humor as an oddball neighbor with a crush on Cal.

But there are plenty of lazy cliches as well. To prevent Cena from straining some untrained muscles, it's up to Mike's significant other and his inexplicable enemies to show us that he's a misunderstood loner. Every emotional moment is punctuated by plinking piano, and every wrestling match is underscored by hard rock.

And it's almost offensive that Danny Glover is relegated to playing the mysterious old confidante who haunts the same fishing hole as Cal. By the time Glover's character delivers the homily, "Legendary" is pinned to the mat.