"Over the Top" Directing Detracts Strongly

Rating: 5/10 (24 May 2005)

I rented this movie primarily on the strengths of Billy Bob Thornton. I think he takes on consistently good roles. This movie had a lot to offer in terms of plot. Rural Texas is big on football, often more so than on academics. The plot point came out in the movie, but seemed to be glossed over to a large degree.
One of the subplots also deals with the relationship between a father, a past high school football champ, and his son who has the opportunity to become a state champ. It is a contentious relationship, but the movie failed to explore that relationship beyond a superficial level.
Perhaps the greatest distraction in this film is the awful directing by Peter Berg of the football action sequences. They were very unrealistic and "over the top" so that they seemed more like a John Madden video game than a high school football game.
The acting was good and the plot was sufficient to prevent this from being a truly horrible film. If you are a sports movie fan, there is a likelihood that you will like this movie much better than I did. However, I was expecting a little more realism and a little more character depth than I saw in this movie.