A GREAT Sports Movie

Rating: 8/10 (11 March 2007)

There's no denying that in today's day and age the sports movie genre has become tired and clichéd. Every year we see more attempts by Hollywood to cash in on the same 'inspiring' story, again and again. But from this defunct genre comes Coach Carter, a wonderful little film and probably one of my favorite sports movies.
Samuel L. Jackson superbly plays Coach ken Carter, a controversial high school basketball coach who locks his players out of the gym when they don't uphold contracts concerning their academics. Jackson is a revelation here, playing a really good guy and turning in one of the best performances of his career. Met with opposition even from the staff, he fights for the idea of a student-athlete for the first time. Calm, cool, and dominating the screen, the film is worth seeing for Jackson's performance alone.
Yet Coach Carter is something more. It's one of those rare sports movies that really hits home, avoiding most of the clichés that have messed up the genre. It's true, there's still the troubled athletes, the obligatory girlfriend-of-the-star; somehow Coach Carter isn't weighed down by it. In fact, quite the opposite, it's a movie that truly soars. 8/10 stars!
Jay Addison