 |
|
|
|
| | | |
| MatchFlick Member Reviews |
All Movie Info
Starring:
Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, David Strathairn, Ian McShane, Anthony Mackie, Kate Mara, Arlen Escarpeta, Kimberly Williams, Brian Geraghty, Tommy Cresswell, Nina Jones, Nina Jones
Directed By:
McG
Written By:
Jamie Linden
|
|
|
| |
We Are Marshall (2006)
 email this review to a friend
Movie Review by Jarrod
December 27th, 2006
|  |
Frankly, I am so sick and tired of sentimental sports movies that I could literally puke every time I hear a new one is going to be released. Football seems to be the most popular setting for unabated emotional pornography, and We Are Marshall seems to verify that claim, though it is admittedly better than most other films of its kind, primarily because the story it tells is quite inspiring and touching, despite the manipulation it very obviously engages in, to wrestle desperately one's tears from their ducts. Most of the football team of Marshall University in West Virginia died in a tragic plane crash on its back from North Carolina. Jack Lengyel (McConaughey) is named the new head coach and he tries to rebuild the shattered team, using surviving members and a healthy sampling of fresh recruits.
His assistant is the guilt-ridden Red Dawson (Fox) who swapped places with one of his colleagues so he could drive to NC and has never forgiven himself for it. Kate Mara is Annie, whose fiance was among the crash victims. McShane is the grieving father of yet another dead player. Strathairn is the dean of the school. The movie is, unsurprisingly, cliched and predictable, but it is earnest and uplifting in spite of itself, more effective in that sense than any other sappy sports drama.
Fox is terrific, as is McShane. McConaughey's performance is uneven, as he is charismatic in some scenes and dreadfully boring and lifeless in others. Speaking of which, the film is too long, with unnecessary training montages. The soundtrack is actually quite good, and perhaps worth buying, if you were to find it in a store. There is no racial element to this movie, as there was in Remember the Titans, and that is somewhat refreshing, but if one had the choice, he would definitely go with a more compelling and exciting football movie, like Friday Night Lights. This is better than Invincible, though that is not really much of a compliment.
email this review to a friend
Comment on this Review:
Sorry, you must be a member to add comments to reviews.
Join or Login. |
 Subscribe to MatchFlick Movie Reviews through RSS
|
