Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius

A nice, indeed refreshing departure--along the lines of Sea Biscuit, Radio, and Chariots of Fire--from today's largely vacuous movie fare. The generational interplay between grandfather, father, and son together with the undergirding theme that there are things more important than championships, combine to make this a fine film.

This film is not for those whose entertainment tastes demand sex, gratuitous violence, or fast paced action. On the other hand, if you are tired of that type entertainment and enjoyed the above mentioned films, or Master and Commander, you should find this a very worthwhile picture. Unfortunately, it was not well-attended the day I saw it, though I did attend a matinee.

Wow, what a nice movie! Beautifully filmed, too.

This is a loving tribute to the American amateur golf legend Bobby Jones but it doesn't sugarcoat his story. Jones is shown with his good and bad sides, especially his horrible temper which he corrected, and his nervous ailments which he was unable to correct and caused an early retirement from the game.

There is a lot of golf footage in here, of tournaments won and lost and battles against famous professional Walter Hagen, who always is pictured in these golf films as an arrogant, flamboyant man. In contrast, Jones' modest character is even more apparent than would normally be noticed.

Anyway, Jim Caveziel is likable as Jones and the two young actors who play the golfer as a kid also do very well. Jones' love interest is appealingly played by Claire Forlani. The two make for a handsome couple.

This is simply a good-natured, feel-good movie that is pleasing to the eyes as well as the heart. If you are a golfer, this a must, but a nice story even if you don't play the game. If you have the DVD, check out the documentaries here. They are quite interesting.

My dad loved golf, and I wish I did. Unfortunately, I'm like my mom--as unathletic as you can get. But I enjoyed this film about the greatest amateur golfer who ever lived.

Bobby Jones didn't do it for the money. Isn't that an anachronism in this sports-crazed age of million dollar salaries! Bobby's record as the only golfer to win the big three of golf tournaments still stands. He walked away from it after this accomplishment to devote his life to his family.

I really like this movie. It portrayed a time when values meant something. Jim Caviezel does a great job as do the rest of the cast. The guy who plays Jones' arch rival, Walter Kagan almost steals the movie.

Good movie!, shows the beautiful of the golf game and the life of a true gentlemen and a legend! In this movie you can feel the beauty of golf, a game of masters, that involve the society of the 1920's, 30's and 40's trough the life of a legend, Bobby Jones (Caviezel), the only golf player that has ever won the grand slam (the four biggest tournaments in the same year), and the one that designed and started the Augusta National, home of the Masters!.

But the more important things, is that you'll be close to the good and bad events in Bobby's life, his bad temper, his values and his life as a son, husband father and player. You can really feel the very human side of Jones noble character; you'll also see great acting roles of Claire Forlani as his wife Mari Malone, Jeremy Northam as his rival and friend Walter Hagen, Malcolm McDowell, as loyal friend O.B. Keeler.

Enjoy this good film with really good golf (i'm not a golf fan, but i loved the way the game is shown here)

If you are a golfer and your eyes don't well up when this movie starts you have no business in watching the rest of the movie. For the rest of you, this true story will give you a glimpse of one of the best, if not the best, golfers and truest gentlemen the golf world has ever known.

The story, acting, dialog, cinematography were all first class. Some good music was even put in from time to time. All that aside this is a moment in a life that we feel is more important than all that. Even if the story, acting, dialog and cinematography weren't up to par, it would not have mattered much because we learned about the man who lived and played in another zone than the rest of us. But, that is a moot point because everything here was up to par.

For years whenever we watched the Masters Golf Tournament we heard the name Bobby Jones and the announcers would list some of his accomplishments, however, this never really told us about the man himself. Well, this movie does. Okay, some things in it may seem sappy, corny, and not real, but in those days that is the way things were. Those were days when respect for everything meant everything, was everything; and people moved on from that standard.

In some ways the movie makes Bobby Jones out to be more human although we held him above that station. Yes, he had a temper when he hit a bad shot, but learned to control it. Yes, he had some medical problems that we never really knew about. Yes, he seemed somewhat selfish running from tournament to tournament at the expense of his family, but the pressures on him were really great. And, his family always stood by him. He accomplished what he wanted to accomplish at a young age, and then quit tournament golf to be more with his family. Later he founded Augusta National Golf Course where the Masters is played each year.

James Caviezel was probably the best person to play the role of Bobby Jones and his performance made Bobby Jones more real for me and this will always stay with me. It is probably too much to hope that the age of respect will once again come around, but to those who see this movie that standard will be remembered at least on the golf course. Anyway, this movie is a real special treat.