True stories of triumphing over adversity can be catnip for filmmakers. The very idea comes with so many plot points and story beats already baked into it. It’s especially true for sports stories. Netflix’s “Nyad” seeks to inspire by telling the genuinely amazing true account of long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad. Unfortunately it’s told through what amounts to a rather lukewarm sports drama that also passes as a pretty standard-issue biopic.

The movie is based on Nyad’s best-selling autobiography “Find a Way”. It’s co-directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vaserhelyi working from a script by Julia Cox. The story sticks close to a well-used formula. We’re introduced to the impossible feat. We get the training sequences. There are the failed attempts leading to the agony of defeat. And then there’s the rise from the ashes for that inspirational one last try. It’s so by the numbers that you’ll be one step ahead for pretty much the entire movie.

Some of the film’s focus is on the friendship between Diana (Annette Bening) and Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster). Early on there’s almost a buddy movie vibe as Chin and Vaserhelyi lay out this potentially compelling relationship. They’re an interesting pair with Diana portrayed as stubborn, selfish, and narcissistic and Bonnie as buoyant, loyal, and supportive to a fault. The problem is, outside of one big scene, there is little-to-no real emotional resonance between them.

The film opens with archived news footage chronicling Nyad’s many swimming accomplishments. But the one thing she had yet to do was make the 103-mile non-stop swim from Cuba to Key West, Florida. In fact, no one had. We learn that Diana had attempted and failed when she was 28-years-old. Now in her early sixties she’s ready to try again. Why you ask? The movie sloppily cobbles together something vaguely resembling an motivation. It involves hazy flashbacks to an abusive childhood and an even hazier allusion to fulfilling her destiny.

There’s clearly some compelling backstory to explore but the filmmakers seem far more interested in getting Diana into the water. First comes convincing Bonnie to get onboard as her coach (and enabler, depending on how you look at it). From there we’re sped through training and conditioning sequences. And despite mentioning the daunting task of raising $500,000 dollars in sponsorship money, it too is rushed and mostly happens off-screen.

After that it’s all about the small supporting cast of characters falling in line with Diana’s single-track obsession. Other than Bonnie, the only remotely memorable one of the bunch is the crusty but capable navigator John Bartlett (Rhys Ifans) who captains her support boat. Everyone else just seems to be along for the ride. There are a few clashes, especially after the first couple of failed attempts. But they’re mostly repeats of the same argument and they usually end with Bonnie or John giving in with little real resistance.

Things pick up a bit once the “action” begins. Diane’s first couple of runs are pretty exciting as she battles both the sea and her body. But over time even these scenes lose their appeal as each new attempt grows increasingly repetitive (by the fifth try we’re rooting for her to make it just so there won’t be a sixth). The film’s final 30 minutes are particularly tedious and offer nothing new other than one ridiculous CGI underwater sequence and that inevitable moment of triumph where the music swells and everyone cheers.

As far as the performances, both Bening and Foster are solid although nowhere near career-best levels. Bening deserves a ton of credit for her deep commitment to her role, especially physically. Yet there’s little nuance in her performance and dramatically she’s often stuck in one gear. Foster is allowed a little more range but even she is handcuffed by a script that plays it safe and often shortchanges character-building.

Chin and Vaserhelyi are terrific filmmakers as evident by their films “Meru” and “Free Solo”. Sadly we only see flashes of it in “Nyad”. The movie skims over the more interesting details of its characters and their lives, caving to more formulaic feel-good storytelling that we’ve seen in countless sports movies and biopics. It’s a shame because it’s such an extraordinary true story that deserves more than such a conventional treatment. “Nyad” releases in select theaters on October 20th before streaming on Netflix November 3rd.

VERDICT – 2 STARS