ScoobyWell Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Bereamic Awesome Movie

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

dgriggs6 I cannot believe it has been so many years ago that I first rated this movie (TEN! I would give it an eleven if I could!) but never wrote a review. First off, I will admit to some biases. I have played and adored golf for almost 60 yrs, since I was 7. Secondly, I was born and raised in the Boston area. Third, I DESPISE arrogant, holier-than-thou, self-righteous people, and am glad that among lots of western nations, the US is or at least was one of the least-conscious class societies. Fourth, Francis' incredibly loving mom reminds me of my mom. So if you share some of these things, and have never seen this movie, you may just LOVE IT!!! I found myself wanting to rip out the throat of INCREDIBLY ARROGANT Lord Northcliffe, played magnificently by Peter Firth. And best of all, this flick is based on a true event. Ouimet's (pronounced WEE-met) big upset win in 1913 US Open Golf. How big an upset was it? In 2005 when flick was released, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were two of top 3 golfers (1st and 2nd?) in world. This 1913 upset was as if the Massachusetts State Amateur champ defeated Tiger and Phil at US Open. I consider it THE greatest upset ever in sports. Even more than the 1980 (and 1960) wins by the US Olympic hockey teams over the Soviet Union.

Dan1863Sickles Barely adequate sports saga set in 1913 America, with a plucky French Canadian immigrant Kid (Shia LeBouef) up against Stephen Dillane as polished English champion Harry Vardon. (A true English gentleman who is haunted by ghosts in top hats telling him he's not well born enough to be a golf champ. Yes, it's as dumb as it sounds.) There's a number of elements to this movie, and none of them work together all that well. The period clothes and settings don't really establish a mood, because all the actors talk and act in a breezy, modern, 21st century style. The dirt poor hero has a rich girl who falls for him at first sight, and Peyton List plays this Victorian beauty with a million dollar smile, tons of sex appeal, and all the modesty and decorum of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model prancing across a beach in her bikini. (Not that I'm complaining!)Veteran character actor Elias Koteas plays Ouimet senior, the bitter, hard bitten French Canadian dad who insists his son will never amount to anything. The writing here is so overdone it's like something out of WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY. ("Ze wrong kid died! Ze wrong kid died!") The irony is that the bitter father is the most believable, period authentic character in the story, and the actor playing him practically steals the movie. You keep feeling like the story is going to turn into FENCES, but of course Disney can't have an American tragedy breaking out in the middle of a feel good sports story. So the unhappy father comes around in the last reel -- and if you think that's a spoiler, you haven't seen many sports movies. Oh, and the comic relief is a fat, annoying, bratty kid who sounds about as 1913 as Eric Cartman. "Screw you guys, I'm going home!"

jc-osms Although a keen golfer myself with a love of the history of the game, perhaps due to not being an American, I somehow didn't know about this wonderful true story of young golfer Walter Ouimet winning the US Open golf championship in a play-off against two British golfing-greats Ted Ray and Harry Vardon, being caddied all the way round by a ten year old boy! I doubt even Disney could have come up with a story so implausible although it's perhaps no surprise that it was Disney who funded this warm, if sentimental and idealised bringing to life of the tale.Yes, there are some unnecessary touching-ups to the original sequence of events, like the liberty taken with the last-hole winning putt (Ouimet actually won by five strokes) and especially the invention of a society love interest of young Ouimet, not only to add a touch of romance but also, in the form of her snobbish father and brother, some class-conflict, just one more obstacle for the young golfer to take on. The film wisely chooses not to demonise his two main English opponents Ray and especially all-time great Vardon, indeed the latter is shown to have demons of his own and who apart from one mild example of gamesmanship practiced against an opponent, is shown to be demonstrably fair and sporting, very much upholding the traditions of the game.It does take a bag-full of camera tricks to make golf exciting in a movie and director Bill Paxton uses every one of them to try to do so, using zoom-ins and outs, fast-cutting and slow-motion, at times even sitting the viewer actually on the ball as it flies to its target. These are perhaps overdone and betray the film's target family audience, but are compensated by good acting by all the main actors, especially young Le Bouef a credit to the memory of the modest but competitive Ouimet and the even younger Josh Flitter as Eddie Lowery, his moxy, pint- sized caddie, who was obviously 10 going on 40 (unsurprisingly the real-life Lowery grew up to become a millionaire).Filmed in warm soft-focus with a pleasant depiction of the era of golf's Golden Age and a stirring soundtrack at its back,this was an entertaining film, which while occasionally taking the circuitous route, managed to get round the course in a little bit better than par, I'd say.

Joseph Harder When i first heard the title of this film, I thought it was about either: 1. Centre's Upset of Harvard in 1920. 2. The 1958 NFL Championship. 3. The last game of the 1960 World Series, 0r (a tie) Texas Vs. Arkansas, 1969 2.The sixth Game between Boston and Cincinnati in 1976 or 3. The "confrontation", Southern Cal versus UCLA, 1967. As You may have guessed, I prefer Football and baseball to golf. Having said that, and having seen this movie, I will say that this probably the best golf movie ever, and that the game it tells about WAS the greatest game of golf, ever. It was the greatest, not simply because an unknown 19 year old amateur, Francis Ouimet upset one of the greatest golfers who ever lived, Harry Vardon, (And another very fine golfer, Ted Ray as well), but because it marked a turning point in the history of golf in America, helping to make the game popular among all Americans. However, The greatest books about Sports- Beyond A Boundary, Friday Night Lights,, When The Colts Belonged to Baltimore, The Boys Of summer, and a few others, explore the social, ethical and spiritual context of sport, and so do the best movies about sports. This Is a great sports movie based on a great sports book, and it has both a socio - economic and an ethical subtext. The socio-economic context in the book and the film is CLASS , and class conflict.Golf began as a game for aristocrats. In the very first scene, aristocrats confiscate the young Harry Vardon's family farm to build a golf course. Twenty years later, the humbly born Vardon is the greatest golfer in the world. Vardon is a self-made gentleman who infuriates the British golf establishment by picking the uncouth Ted Ray as his co-representative for Great Britain at the !919US Golf Championship. Ouimet himself is an social outsider, a working-class youth who stuns the US golf establishment by his superb play, which culminates in a three way playoff who determine the championship. Ouimets eventual upset win created an international sensation, In addition, the book and the film have a moral context as well. They both celebrate the virtues of true sportsmanship; courage, loyalty, perseverance, and hard work. They also show that true aristocracy is a matter of merit, not birth. The humbly born Vardon and Ouimet- even the Falstaff-like Ted Ray, possess more truly aristocratic qualities than the aristocrats of the gold establishment.On top of all that, this is a well-acted, expertly directed, and superbly edited and shot film. In short, this is the best sports films, ever.