Over the past several years, the sports genre has been slowly grown more and more dull as the year goes by, with many films of the genre driven by almost nothing more than common sports tropes. Fortunately, the triumphant nature of these films hasn't stop audiences everywhere from buying a ticket to see an inspiring story of a high school overcoming odds to claim their victory, and for fair reasons. When a film has a heart, it's only destiny is to win the hearts of undemanding family audience. In this case, clichéd doesn't automatically mean not entertaining. Based on true events, When The Game Stands Tall follows the story of Bob Ladouceur (played by Jim Caviezal), a long-time and soft-spoken coach of the the De La Salle High School football team in Concord, California who made legacy in American sports with a 151 game-winning streak, the biggest record ever held in the history of American sports. When tragedy strikes the team and they face a defeating loss for the first time, their faith and their dreams are put to the test where they must learn how to overcome loss and get back on their feet. Featuring a likable cast of Michael Chiklis, Alexander Ludwig, Clancy Brown, Laura Dern, Matthew Daddario, Joe Massingill, Ser'Darius Blain, Stephen James, and Richard Kohnke; this film brings together a heart-warming and inspirational tale of a football's team determination and hopefulness, while challenging a typical sports movie clichés.
This movie certainly doesn't offer anything new to the table of sports-related dramas. As far as football-themed films go, this one seems to burn through nearly every cliché that many sports movies are known for, including a major plot point where a character is tragically is killed and a subplot of a family dispute relating to duty of working with a football team, how many times we seen this before? Most of the characters are barely distinguishable with the exception of Alexander Ludwig's character Chris Ryan, an eager player who suffers from emotional abuse from his father who only cares about his son's touchdown records. With all this said, the lack of innovation put into this story will likely indulge viewers into more déjà vu than inspiration. On the other hand, audience who've grown fond of sports movies won't help but pleased by the film's messages of treating your team as a family and the heart- touching story of how the team learns to overcome the obstacles that get in the way of their goals. There is also a little bit of a Christian undertone to it that will likely satisfy viewers, and the film does a great job at delivering a message about hope and teamwork without being overly preachy or forcefully shoving the message down your throat. Lastly, the performances are great to say the least. Jim Caviezel really makes a strong impression as the coach who deeply cares of his team, while trying to balance his relationship with his wife. The rest of actors do a decent job as well, though nothing particularly outstanding to speak of.
When The Game Stands Tall is certainly nothing original, but it is quite entertaining and pleasing to watch. It is a film that can surely inspire viewers and fill them with great messages. Looking for a good family movie? This one is worth a try.
This movie certainly doesn't offer anything new to the table of sports-related dramas. As far as football-themed films go, this one seems to burn through nearly every cliché that many sports movies are known for, including a major plot point where a character is tragically is killed and a subplot of a family dispute relating to duty of working with a football team, how many times we seen this before? Most of the characters are barely distinguishable with the exception of Alexander Ludwig's character Chris Ryan, an eager player who suffers from emotional abuse from his father who only cares about his son's touchdown records. With all this said, the lack of innovation put into this story will likely indulge viewers into more déjà vu than inspiration. On the other hand, audience who've grown fond of sports movies won't help but pleased by the film's messages of treating your team as a family and the heart- touching story of how the team learns to overcome the obstacles that get in the way of their goals. There is also a little bit of a Christian undertone to it that will likely satisfy viewers, and the film does a great job at delivering a message about hope and teamwork without being overly preachy or forcefully shoving the message down your throat. Lastly, the performances are great to say the least. Jim Caviezel really makes a strong impression as the coach who deeply cares of his team, while trying to balance his relationship with his wife. The rest of actors do a decent job as well, though nothing particularly outstanding to speak of.
When The Game Stands Tall is certainly nothing original, but it is quite entertaining and pleasing to watch. It is a film that can surely inspire viewers and fill them with great messages. Looking for a good family movie? This one is worth a try.