Some things can't be learned, they must be remembered

Rating: Null/10 (29 March 2002)

I am not a big golf fan, but after watching this movie, I have a greater appreciation of what a game like golf can do for the individuals that play it, and what it can do for a small town's moral. This movie is as good to the game of golf, as what the name Tiger Woods has been to this popular sport, in my view.
This is the story of Rannulph Junuh, a promising young golfer who loses his swing after he experiences the harrowing frontlines of war. Once considered Savannah's greatest sportsman and favourite celebrity, Junuh had won the heart of the town's prettiest heiress, Adele Invergordon. But when he returned from war he was a defeated man, giving up both golf and Adele for the sake of alcohol. When Junuh is given a chance to redeem himself by competing in a celebrity golf tournament, he must first regain his swing and his self-respect. It will take a miracle, in the form of a mysterious caddy named Bagger Vance, for Junuh to get his game back as well as his life.

The cast of The legend of Bagger Vance is first class. The star performance for me, is that of Will Smith as Vance. Now the movie-going public would think of Smith as only an action man, but in this film he proves that he can take on more diverse, dramatic roles. In fact, I quite like him as the Bagger Vance character myself. Then you have Matt Damon, the young Hollywood actor, who has a great time in the movie world in the last few years. He was terrific as the down and out Junuh. He was also brilliant in the movie that he helped to write, that of Good Will Hunting, alongside fellow young star Ben Affleck and legend actor Robin Williams. To cap the cast of The legend of Bagger Vance off you have the beautiful Charlize Theron, who played the gorgeous and concerned town lady, Adele. She has had a good career, with some other roles including Devil's Advocate, The Cider House Rules and 15 Minutes to name just a few.
The director of The Legend Of Bagger Vance, is the recent Academy award hall of fame recipient, Robert Redford. He has had a good career onscreen, but I never realised how good he was offscreen. He has directed some great movies, with an Oscar for his directing of the movie Ordinary people. I love the small touches he put to this film, the way that the movie was told to the audience via old eyes, but we view through young eyes, was very ingenious. In some movies the time that is trying to be shown is not that accurate, however I feel Redford got the right look for the time that he was trying to reenact.
In addition to all this, the sport that was being shown off in this movie was given a good light. Making the tournament a do or die battle for the town of Savannah and to see how important it was for the people, shows how great a game Golf can be. Sport is good in the way that it gets people closer, especially in a time of need.
So all in all, I can only praise this great movie. It was a funny and a touching film that had a great cast. This movie can help people that feel they are out of luck and are no longer good enough, to have some hope, if they can once again believe in themselves. I guess I can relate to that feeling, as in one time I felt that I was not good enough to be able to do anything. But now I am a person who has learnt that anything is possible, if you give it a try. Be motivated by the one film that can teach you anything.
Rating: 9/10 or 4.5 Stars