Coach Royal is being interviewed and looking back at the players he has coached and who he found the most inspiring, that was Freddie Steinmark who had to battle against his small size in order to prove everyone wrong. But getting to play college football wasn't going to be his biggest challenge.
I had not even heard of this film until it appeared on Sky Cinema on Super Bowl Sunday. Not that I watched the Super Bowl but it was certainly a great idea to have a film about American Football appear to watch instantly, especially considering I have such a thing about Sports films. Aaron Eckhart leads the line as the Coach in this one and he is very impressive as Coach Royal. You believe he cares and that Steinmark really did change everything he thought he knew about American Football and coaching the team. That was a change for the better as well. Finn Wittrock also put in a very good performance as Steinmark and I really enjoyed watching his character grow and show sheer determination.
Since watching the film I had a little look at the reviews and ratings the film as received and was rather shocked to see it scoring very low on Rotten Tomatoes. I thought it mixed the emotions very well with the heartbreaking story surrounding a young man who wanted nothing more than to play Football. Something his dad had kept pushing him with but he wanted it as well. The extra training he put into it all was inspiring to show that if you really want to achieve greatness you have to work extremely hard as well, having some talent is never going to be enough you have to train and work very hard constantly, having a focused mindset.
I thought that was something the film captured in a very good and interesting way. I had no idea on the story so I found myself extremely shocked with the turn it took with his injury to his leg and how bad it actually was. With a supportive family and his high school girlfriend still by his side, a great coach he really did have everything he could possibly need to succeed. The training scenes for college football always look extremely brutal and not particularly fun, but I am assuming this is something that has changed over the years?
I was truly engrossed in Freddie Steinmark's story and how he was a true fighter until the very end. His friendship with Bobby Mitchell was another inspiring part of the story and how they both kept each other going through the worst of times. This is something that you need within sport settings, someone who you are very close to and can help in many different ways.
So personally I really found myself enjoying this film from start to finish and with the performances being very good. You might start to guess what is going to happen next but I don't think that really took anything away from the powerful and well heartbreaking story.
