Holly
01-13-2006, 04:05 PM
In recent years, the Disney studio has found a successful franchise with inspirational sports stories.
“Remember the Titans” (football), “Miracle” (hockey) and “The Greatest Game Ever Played” (golf) launched the trend, and now, basketball gets its due with “ Glory Road.” It's the true saga of the principally black team that Texas Western University yielded in the mid-1960s, with a coach (played quite well by Josh Lucas, of “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Stealth”) who used the players' rather raw backgrounds to shape them into a formidable and relentlessly hard-driving squad on the court.
Their common experiences also served them well in generating an unshakable bond that helped them deal with prejudice, an aspect the picture doesn't shy away from. In fact, it's portrayed in a grittier style than might be implied by what generally is a family-oriented feature, but it's part of the lesson the movie has in mind to teach; it's shown instead of preached, and that can be all the more powerful, especially where younger viewers are concerned.
Rest assured, there is plenty of action on the court, but “Glory Road” also delves into its characters as full-fledged individuals. A certain amount of dramatic license has been taken, but the punch of the film is in its overall effect rather than the details that have been compressed in certain instances. Derek Luke, who was so good in “Antwone Fisher,” and Sam Jones III (formerly of TV's “Smallville”) are in the ensemble of young actors playing the athletes; Jon Voight also makes his mark as the coach of the Kentucky team that rivaled Texas Western for the national championship that ended up making headlines beyond the sports pages.
If you know “Glory Road” is from Disney and that it's about sports, it doesn't take a lot to add the equation and figure out what the result will be like. That said, the film achieves its desired effect, and its good intentions set it apart from many other movies being released these days (can you say “Hostel”?). That's more than enough to earn it the applause, and general appreciation, it deserves.
(Rated PG)
“Remember the Titans” (football), “Miracle” (hockey) and “The Greatest Game Ever Played” (golf) launched the trend, and now, basketball gets its due with “ Glory Road.” It's the true saga of the principally black team that Texas Western University yielded in the mid-1960s, with a coach (played quite well by Josh Lucas, of “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Stealth”) who used the players' rather raw backgrounds to shape them into a formidable and relentlessly hard-driving squad on the court.
Their common experiences also served them well in generating an unshakable bond that helped them deal with prejudice, an aspect the picture doesn't shy away from. In fact, it's portrayed in a grittier style than might be implied by what generally is a family-oriented feature, but it's part of the lesson the movie has in mind to teach; it's shown instead of preached, and that can be all the more powerful, especially where younger viewers are concerned.
Rest assured, there is plenty of action on the court, but “Glory Road” also delves into its characters as full-fledged individuals. A certain amount of dramatic license has been taken, but the punch of the film is in its overall effect rather than the details that have been compressed in certain instances. Derek Luke, who was so good in “Antwone Fisher,” and Sam Jones III (formerly of TV's “Smallville”) are in the ensemble of young actors playing the athletes; Jon Voight also makes his mark as the coach of the Kentucky team that rivaled Texas Western for the national championship that ended up making headlines beyond the sports pages.
If you know “Glory Road” is from Disney and that it's about sports, it doesn't take a lot to add the equation and figure out what the result will be like. That said, the film achieves its desired effect, and its good intentions set it apart from many other movies being released these days (can you say “Hostel”?). That's more than enough to earn it the applause, and general appreciation, it deserves.
(Rated PG)