A MUST WATCH For All Sports (Especially Football) Fans

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2017)

At its core, this film tells the story of the Marshall College football program of 1971, when a year earlier nearly the entire team was wiped out in a plane crash and thus the entire team had to be rebuilt. Sadly, this is a true story, and this film is able to capture the essence of the entire story in two ways:
First, not only is the building of the football team extremely difficult, but more importantly was the rebuilding of the community after the tragedy, and director McG captured that emotional period brilliantly, showing how members of the school and community grappled with the issue of putting a team on the field (and risk dredging up bad memories) or scrapping the football program altogether. While some people yearn to see the green and white colors on the playing field, others are haunted by those memories and would prefer to keep them at an arms length, the conflict that provides the emotional punch to the film.
Just as important, however, is the quality of the acting. Matthew McConaughey breaks away from his traditional "brainless" or "hunk" movie roles to portray Coach Jack Lengyl, who brought football back to Marshall. McConaughey nails this role, bringing the enigmatic coach to life. Also impressive is Kata Mara in the role of Annie Cantrell, whose personal struggles mirror the struggles of the entire community. However, it is Matthew Fox ("Jack" of LOST fame) who really steals the show. Playing a Marshall coach not on the doomed plane, Fox is brilliant in portraying the conflicting emotions (relief, sorrow, regret, anger, guilt, etc.) that arise from such a complicated, emotional situation. It has been a long time since I have seen an actor be so good at playing emotionally conflicted characters.
Overall, this is a very inspirational, yet also quite sorrowful film that will take you on an emotional roller-coaster. Yet, even in its most emotional moments, there always seems to exist a light at the end of the tunnel, or a way that things can start to be okay after such a tragedy. Though you likely already know how the situation turned out, that knowledge will not stop you for rooting on the Marshall boys all the same!