AboveDeepBuggy Some things I liked some I did not.

Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Python Hyena The Replacements (2000): Dir: Howard Deutch / Cast: Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Orlando Jones, Brooke Langton, Jon Favreau: Same old junk with a different paint job. It suggests ignorance on behalf of those whom the team will eventually prove wrong. Gene Hackman plays a football coach who decides to assemble a team of players who have dropped out of sight. There is a football strike and he views this as an opportunity for others to shed their light. Among these are a maniac cop, a convict, a gambler who can kick, two big black bar bouncers, a sumo wrestler, etc. Keanu Reeves is sought after as a quarterback. He served a nasty defeat but Hackman still sees potential. Recycled and dreary with director Howard Deutch doing his best but after making The Odd Couple 2 he needs all the help he can muster. He also directed Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful (which doesn't describe this film). Hackman is wasted as the coach who will whip these players into shape. Orlando Jones is far too talented to be stuck in a film that requires no thought. Brooke Langton's role is obvious in that she is basically a romantic prop. While Varsity Blues made this same sort of film entertaining and funny, here is a film so deserving to be toss onto a football field so that it might be stumped on by every single player. The screenplay is in bad need of replacing. Score: 2 / 10

darosslfc The Replacements has been criticized for not being entirely accurate when it comes to football. That's not the point of this film though. It wasn't made to be an Oscar contender. It was made for sports fans who want to see a fun story and laugh while watching it. The Replacements delivers on both these aspects. The story's backdrop is a strike among the professional football players with four games left in the season. Jimmy McGinty (Gene Hackman) is brought in to coach the Washington Sentinels and bring in a group of replacement players to finish out the season. The unconventional McGinty picks players that others might not have deemed NFL worthy. The list includes: wide receiver Clifford Franklin (Orlando Jones), linebacker Daniel Bateman (Jon Favreau), kicker Nigel Gruff (Rhys Ifans), and quarterback Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves). Most of the players McGinty picks haven't played football in awhile, but he believes that they have something the spoiled professionals don't, which is heart. The film goes on to tell the story of these replacement players and their fight to get into the playoffs. The players have to come to terms with their fears and learn to trust each other in order to do this. And they have their cheerleading squad, led by Falco's love interest Annabelle Farrell (Brooke Langton), to help them do this. Shane Falco leads the squad in a way that isn't classy or inspirational, because that just wouldn't be their style. And that is the style of the film. It doesn't go out with the aim to be a story that will move you to tears, except maybe through laughter. The film is one to watch when looking for a light hearted story that offers some laughs.

kai ringler I love this movie.. and here's why first of all it's based on a true story even though the No Fun League ...NFL will never admit it,, 1987,, 4 plus years removed from a total work stoppage, this time the players get greedy, and of course want more money,, they want their share of the pie, that the NFL is holding onto. Keanu Reeves plays "Footsteps Falco".. gotta love that nickname,, he is a QB that had an awful game at the Sugar Bowl lost 45-0 and has since went into hiding,,, Gene Hackman is wonderful as coach Joe McGinty,, together the two just give such a wonderful performance,, the cheerleaders in this movie,, are like the best iv'e ever seen,, pretty, sexy,, and seductive,, catch some of their moves during the game. what I like best about the movie is the more than accurate portrayal of the game itself,, the play calling,, the locker room stuff.. in the real NFL Washington did have a player on work furlough from prison,, this is a must see movie,, especially for a football guru or you re casual fan,, and even if you're not a football fan you will be after seeing this movie,, thumbs up .

CountZero313 The Replacements is the kind of movie they should be showing in film school. We can all look at Chinatown, Don't Look Now, Witness, Bringing Up Baby, Tokyo Monogatari, ET, Tootsie or Crimson Tide and see why they work well. It would be more of a challenge to take a heap of dung like The Replacements and say, "Right, fix that." They ticked off all the boxes; a reluctant hero steps up for one final chance at glory and redemption. Mentored by a grizzly old coach, supported by a wacky but loyal group of peers, he battles adversity, wins the game, and gets the girl. It could be Major League with more heart, or Bull Durham with more laughs.Except it doesn't work. It isn't funny (I felt for Gene Hackman trying to wring a laugh out of mis-pronouncing 'wiry', I just wanted to go up and pat him on the back, say 'never mind, mate', buy him a beer...), and there is zero drama. The prison dance routine to 'I Will Survive' probably takes the prize for worst scene of all. I think they tried for a pastiche, aiming at camp, but it is just... so bad. It is like watching one of those cabaret circuit stand-up comics dying slowly on stage, determined to make it through his routine despite the rising indifference of the audience. This is an absolute train-crash, bombed out horror of a movie, a real lesson in 'How Not To.' It does for the sports genre what Wing Commander did for sci-fi. I hope someone one day gets to record Hackman answering the question "Why?". The other actors can at least say, "I wanted to work with Gene Hackman." What on earth is his excuse?