Plot: What’s it about?
I should confess this: I am not a sports fan at all. That isn’t to say that I can’t find enjoyment from sports films, but I am definitely not the target demographic. When the game stands tall focuses on the real life story of coach Bob Ladouceur (played here by Jim Caviezel), and his High School football team that enjoyed a record breaking 151 game winning streak. Things seem more than optimistic, but the team suffer a few setbacks. The coach suffers a heart attack, and is told his coaching days might be over. There’s also a tragedy with one of the team members as well. The bad luck doesn’t end there, however, since the team loses their first game in years. These events lead to the coach getting back into the game (no pun intended). We get many scenes here on and off the field with strong emphasis on the daily lives of these players. I found the earlier portion of the film more interesting than the latter half simply because footage of the players on the field doesn’t interest someone like me. They are wonderfully staged and authentic looking, but can become routine after a point.
Football fans will likely get more enjoyment from the film than myself, but I can still give it a mild recommendation. It gets a lot more right than wrong. Let’s face it, at this point, we’ve seen far too many of these films that it’s hard to avoid clichés all together. The message here is rather positive as the coach often uses scripture as a way to motivate his team. There’s a minor subplot involving one of the player’s father who is overly harsh on his son, encouraging him to continue their own personal streak. The dad clearly wants what’s best for him and not his son; another trophy for his extensive collection. I won’t say the film lacks strong character development, but more time is devoted so certain players over others. Still, I enjoyed this overall and think it warrants a viewing. It’ll never be remembered as a classic and I still think Friday Night Lights remains one of the better football movies, especially of the more recent ones, but this still satisfies.
Video: How’s it look?
The transfer here is first-rate. Details are always strong and clarity is never an issue. A few wrinkles could be seen on some faces as well as other facial features. This is a good demonstration of how real HD can look. The scenes on the field (and there are quite a few) also look sharp as can be. Sometimes when I flip through and see a sports game on cable, I notice that there can be a bit of delay during some of the action. That isn’t the case here. Of course, my TV is a bit older now, and that refresh rate issue has since been resolved, but the image is flawless here. It’s AVC encoded with a 1.85:1 ratio.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Also strong is the DTS HD track. Again, the scenes on the field deliver the most, but other scenes are fine as well. Vocals are always clear, the crowd chanting in the background really shines through as well. Some of the music in some scenes comes in strong, so adjusting the volume at times might be necessary. Overall, there’s nothing negative to say here. It satisfies.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Audio Commentary – we get two tracks here. One features the Director of the film and the other is a select scene track that also features the Director along with the real life coach that’s featured in the film.
- Deleted and Extended Scenes – Don’t expect anything of value here as most are only minor extensions.
- Undefeated: The making of When the Game Stands Tall – This gives a look at the true story the film is based on as well as some interviews with the cast and crew.
- Gridiron Action – This gives us a glimpse of the football sequences and how they were staged.
- The Heart and Soul of a Program: Bob Ladouceur – We get footage detailing the real life coach that Caviezel plays in the film.
- Previews
- DVD/Digital Copy
The Bottom Line
While not a classic sports film by any means, there’s still just enough here to warrant a viewing. The film is led by a strong performance from Jim Caviezel and has its heart in the right place. Rent it.
