Sentimental and Predictable

Rating: 3/10 (13 May 2001)

To say that Remember the Titans didn't stir some emotion in me would be a lie. Having been out of high school almost seven years, the scenes on the football field stirred that old burning desire to be back on the gridiron cleaning people's clocks and having that sweet taste of victory in my mouth (although that actually happened a lot less than I'd like to admit). And to see the way the two races forged friendships and integrated did cause a rush of emotion as well. However, by the end of this movie, I knew all too well that my emotions had been deliberately played with and that this was the entire point of the movie.
This film evokes the typical stereotypes of both a sports movie and a free-you-mind flick. The whites and blacks who play for the newly integrated Titans are hostile to each other at first, and then miraculously at football camp they all become friends. They are then met with the same prejudices they once shared when they return home, and the movie chronicles their struggles to remain friends as well as the rest of the communities fight to become more tolerant. It's a great message, but one that has been done before. Furthermore, it is such a formulaic account here that it's hardly worth the initial emotion it evokes.
On the field, the same formula (and this paragraph might be a spoiler, but then again, I'm sure you can already determine the outcome). The Titans face tough opponents but come together to defeat them all, and, on the last play of the game with only a prayer, they somehow manage to score the winning touchdown and take the state championship (gee, haven't we seen that 300,000 times before?).
If you like the emotional roller coaster ride, then this is your movie. If, like me, you tire of seeing the same formula plugged into movies with only the names of the characters different, then avoid this like the plague. All in all, when the emotions subside, I realized that this movie left a bitter aftertaste.
I give it a 3 out of 10.