Tries Far Too Hard to Be Inspirational and Comes off As Cheesy

Rating: 6/10 (24 April 2008)

I honestly am let down quite a bit by this film. It's a good movie, yes, but I heard from a few different people that it's one of the greatest films of all time so I was expecting a life changing film. What I got, however, was a slightly more depressing and less good version of The Karate Kid. Maybe it'll grow on me if I watch it again, but that's my impression so far.
We all know that Victor Salva's a total creep but I don't think that makes him a terrible filmmaker, despite how creepy it is that he always shows young men with no shirts on in his films. The acting was mediocre at best. Nick Nolte was great as usual but the rest weren't too great, especially Amy Smart. I get so annoyed by Amy Smart. On to the story. The story is alright but far too preachy and "inspirational" for me. The lines were almost hilariously cheesy and I just wanted them to stop. The ending was also cheesy and a little tedious. Don't get me wrong, I liked the film but there was nothing more to it than that. I have trouble being inspired by sports movies.