'Remember the Titans' - More than Football

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2004)

In the past several years, there has been an influx in the US box offices of sports movies, particularly football. These movies often carry cliché messages and dull character interactions. Remember the Titans, directed by Boaz Yakin, is exactly the opposite of these drab movies.
The story of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, VA, the movie tells much more than the story of a football team. With the school recently forced to integrate, racial tensions are running high not only among schoolmates, but across the town. With the new black head coach, Herman Boone, the team is faced with the challenge of overcoming their differences.
Yakin shows us through the film the teams roller-coaster ride through its season. From the beginning of camp, when players of other races are reluctant to sit on the same bus, to the end of the season when a white teammate proclaims one of his black teammates his brother, Yakin shows us the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity.
He uses their success on the football field as a way to convey their struggles in life and society's. He shows us exactly how the players are feeling, instead of only how good of football players they are. The triumphs of the team not only inspire the players and the coaching staff, but the entire town to attempt to lay aside their differences and respect their brother.