Excellent sports biopic; Jackson is absolutely terrific!

Rating: 8/10 (29 August 2013)

Coach Carter made for quite the riveting watch. Whilst it's not quite as good as Gene Hackman's Hoosiers, it's pretty damn good in its own right. The story itself is nothing all that spectacular, despite being based on true events. You've seen this type of stuff before, but the way they managed to pull it off is what really made this movie. You may question Carter's tactics at first, but you'll soon rally behind him, and that's the powerfulness of Samuel L. Jackson's performance. The fact that he would go on strike and hold up games, simply so his players would improve academically; It's brazen, but it really got to me. His intensity was off the charts and the man was often magnetic to watch. It's a memorable performance which I rank as one of Jackson's best. Rob Brown is best known for his great performance in The Express, and he was solid as a rock here. Ashanti actually does decent here, whilst Channing Tatum makes an appearance in one of his early roles.The character that I related to the most was Junior. I empathized with his plight, and I give credit to Nana Gbewonyo for his awesome performance. It also helps that the Basketball action is very exciting to watch. It felt like I was watching a real basketball game at times, and that's one of the biggest compliments I can give it
Final Thoughts: This is an excellent film. If you love basketball, true stories, and Samuel L. Jackson, I can guarantee you will find things to like about this one. At least I hope you do
8/10