The Hill

I thought I would like it since it has Dennis Quaid. I actually loved the movie. It's so refreshing to see a realistic movie with good actors and no CG. I thought the story line was interesting and I didn't even realize the movie was over two hours! I'm not usually in for a long movie but this one kept my interest. I just really like Dennis Quaid is this type of role. He was excellent and all the actors were great in their roles. If a movie is going to have a sport in the background I prefer it to be baseball because that's the only sport I like at all. I just loved the character "'Red" and whoever played him was so entertaining. Im 55 and that's how I remember old men acting and comporting themselves when I was a child in the 70s. I enjoyed that the historical setting was quite accurate. I saw some things that were off a little but overall it was excellent.

"The Hill" has its heart in the right place, that's for sure. It's a sincere movie. It tells its story in a nice way. The cast is, for the most part, likeable. The performances, for the most part, are well done. The standouts are Dennis Quaid and Jesse Berry. There one weak link, however. The normally dependable Bonnie Bedelia. Bedelia is 75 years old. She is by any definition an old lady. In "The Hill" plays an old lady like an "old lady". For the longest time I though they cast a young actress to play the part. After an hour or so I checked IMDB and discovered it was actually Bedelia in the movie.

The Hill hits home (no pun intended) if you grew up in a smaller town. Growing up in the bible belt, I understand that strict, moral parental values are hard to let go of when children want to walk a different path in life.

Rickey Hill and his Father rarely see eye to eye - the conflict of baseball, faith, and their relationship can't seem to coexist. Rickey see's his skills at bat as a gift while his father sees it as a surefire way that he will be crippled forever. It's tough love verses stubbornness on his father's behalf as Rickey time and time again proves that he can fulfill his dream.

It's a rarity these days that we see such a gritty & real father/son relationship on screen and from the first scene, you're rooting for the two to salvage a bond together. Dennis Quaid and Colin Ford have great chemistry and you really believe their father and son dynamic. The child actors playing the younger version of the characters did a great job as well and the time period (late 60s/early 70s) makes for a perfect, All-American setting.

"October Sky" meets "The Natural". A winning baseball movie for the whole family.

Based on a true story, it seemed cloyingly maudlin. Whereas a story like Rudy plays out naturally, elements of this seem theatrically pushed into repetitive stark stereotypical juxtapositions. It was longer than it needed to be, and even my wife said the same thing though she enjoyed it more.

The acting, however, is what makes this so compelling. The man playing Rickey Hill as an adult is a man we should expect to see much more. Dennis Quaid seemingly turns every scene -and movie-into powerful performances. One reviewer said the background actors were poor but I sure didn't think so. Everyone turned in great, believable, deep performances, which is why I did not rate it lower.

Settings for the scenes are well done. Look for real major league pitcher John Smoltz as the final game announcer.

Summary: many people will like it for its spirit of facing trials and tribulations, and can be expected to rate it higher, but it just seems overly heavy handed and long attempting to manipulate emotions.

The Netflix pre-trailer portrays a very different story than the one you are given. It certainly is not the traditional sports film. That is not to say all of the movie is bad, there are in fact some scenes that are high quality and will move your heart. The issue is that there is too much filler that doesn't quite develop the characters enough. Some of the scenes between the child and his father just don't quite deliver the impact needed , the scenes are too raw and I'm not sure whether it was the acting or the script but I definitely needed more. I believe it would have made the story more powerful if more attention was given to digging deeper into the boys relationship with his father outside of just the fact that his dad wanted him to be a clergyman instead of a baseball player . There was a point for me where I just wanted more meaningful heartfelt dialogue between them which would have made the ending so much more rewarding in my opinion. It could have better established the father in particulars growth as a character.

Still ithe movie was a worthwhile watch . Had the potential to be spectacular , but lacked in too many ways making it just ok.