Review of When the Game Stands Tall (2014) by Jason M — 03 Sep 2014

When the Game Stands Tall August 22.

Initial Reaction: I don't know - when does the game stand tall?

Main Characters.

Jim Caviezel: He's the head coach of the De La Salle High School football team.

Plot Summary.

Things are going great for the De La Salle football team - they are racking up wins at an astonishing rate. The players are all working together and learning about life lessons together.

But the beginning of the next season, the streak comes to a stop - and there are problems off the field the include a player gunned down, the coach getting a heart attack, and the fans getting mad because the Streak is over.

It will take a lot from the coach to get the players used to the idea of putting forth their best effort and forgetting about wins and losses.

SCORING.

Main Characters.

I like this coach because he tries his best to turn the players into grown men - and not just football players. SCORE: 9.

Supporting Cast.

The players on the De La Salle team aren't very interesting - they act a lot like players on most other high school football teams.

And the fans - well, there's nothing that really separates them from the usual fans. SCORE: 4.

Plot.

The first thirty minutes or so of the film gets really annoying because there's not much of a conflict going on - the film tries to plant a seed of conflict with the players talking to each other, but it doesn't work.

But after the team loses that game, the film takes a turn for the better - and I like the part where the team goes to a VA hospital and interacts with the patients. SCORE: 6.

Originality.

This film tries to differentiate itself from the usual underdog sports film by featuring a powerhouse team. But I feel like this story has been done before. SCORE: 4.

Violence Factor.

The shooting isn't all that scary - maybe a little to censored. And the football action isn't all to rough, either. SCORE: 8.

Other Moral Issues.

This film is supposed to be about a team rebounding from a crushing loss, but it takes way too long for that conflict to show up for me to really enjoy it. SCORE: 4.

Final Score (out of 60): 35 % Score: 58.33%.

This film had great promise - it just took too long for the main conflict to show up.