Surprising

Rating: 8/10 (8 July 2008)

Color me very surprised! McG is indeed a capable director. This film lifted off a load off my shoulders concerning the horribly titled upcoming Terminator Salvation but that's small stuff. We've seen this story a dozen times before, while it is of course a true story, the subject matter does have its' "sports movie" clichés. That aside however, because the direction, acting, and cinematography combined pack an emotive punch resulting in a very well made drama ala Friday Night Lights, which I think is a bit better myself. I felt McG really demonstrated his potential in this film as a serious director and not a style over substance he seemed to be with Charlie's Angels films. Aside from a relatively strong story he did bring in the visuals, which added a nice look making the film style WITH substance.