Disney has perfected the sports movie about underdog doing good.

Rating: 8/10 (21 February 2015)

Kevin Costner is real good at playing the flawed mentor. He's not perfect and the goal is together we will make it and you will fix me as much as I'll fix you, and it works for Costner in this film, just like it worked in Black or White, which is in theaters at the same time as this one.
Although I like the other, Mexicans do good movie, Spare Parts with George Lopez better,that was not really a sports movie they were competing in a science competition. This is a sports movie and a damn good one.
Nothing like seeing the under dogs succeed. It's very formulated, but the formula is working well as Kevin Costner as Jim White, A Football coach who's too tough on his students, which cost him to loose his job and have to move his family to a poor town called McFarland were he teaches a group of kids who don't think they'll amount to anything, that they can amount to everything by coaching them on a cross country track team.
It's funny how much this story resembles Spare Parts, both based on a true story and both true stories match well with a cross country track team replacing an Engineering club. And it's like every single sports movie formula, but I must admit, I knew nothing about Cross Country track so that made it original.
Also, it was a story about community, which was original. These kids were from the poor side of the tracks not the wrong side of the tracks, which puts a spin on that stereotypical kid who comes from a family of gang bangers, stereotype. It was interesting to see how tight this small town was and how they embraced the White family.
Overall, it's a formula that works well. You've seen it a million times before but Kevin Costner and the other cast members gave a heartfelt performance that makes it worth seeing.