Solid baseball drama

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2008)

The Natural is based on Bernard Malamud's famous novel about baseball. It follows Roy Hobbs' first season as a player for the New York Knights. Despite being older than the average player, he lives up to his title of being a natural. In addition to the baseball part, the film also includes a love story that impacts Hobbs' performance in various ways, making things interesting.
If your a fan of baseball, this is the movie for you. Despite playing for a couple years while I was a kid, I never cared much about the sport. I decided to give the film a chance anyway. Robert Redford has the image of a great baseball icon, which suits him perfectly for the role of Hobbs. The team manager, Pop Fisher, makes a perfect coach. His lines about being a farmer are priceless. The opponents of Hobbs, particularly The Judge (the corrupt owner of the team), are a believable bunch that adequately reflect the hurdles of organized baseball. The music is also a strong point of the film; its main score has become forever intertwined with achievement in sports.
The plot was interesting enough to keep my attention. While not particularly exciting or deep on the whole, it certainly has its moments. The last ten minutes are a good wrap-up, and is probably the best part overall. I was satisfied with the movie and would highly recommend it to fans of the sport.