Excellent effort from director McG and the cast

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2013)

After two Charlie's Angels movies, you would think a director you would NOT choose to do this film would be McG. Well all I can say is this film-maker has definitely scored a touchdown with this movie! His directing is restrained and he lets the excellent script (by Joe Linden) really shine through great performances from key members of the cast. The true standout is a terrifically charismatic but wonderfully accessible and empathic performance by Matthew McConaughey. He is ably supported by Lost's Matthew Fox, Anthony MacKie, David Strathairn and the rest of the cast who give intense but understated performances. McG wisely lets the performances shine in this movie, but brings strong filmmaking contributions, notably great filming of the football game sequences; the aftermath of a major event early on in the film; Christophe Beck's great musical score, and Shane Hurlbut's stylish but subtle photography.
The film's themes are powerful , yet accessible to a wide audience, and some of the emotional reaction comes across as genuine rather than overtly sentimental. Certainly the themes of never giving up, never accepting the status quo, never accepting the easy way out, as well as how people pull together in a crisis to overcome a tragedy, make this a very satisfying and enjoyable film.
Congratulations to both cast and crew.