briandfinley

Oh boy...well, let's see. It does have a great cast . Frank Grillo is always fun to watch, even when the material is dopey claptrap, as this is. A sort-of star-studded cast (if Mel Gibson van be still be considered a star) does little to advance the story; the actors are basically product-placement ads: Look! There's Michelle Yeoh! Hey There's Ken Jeong! And what in the hell persuaded Naomi Watts to join this mess? There's a lot of ass-kickin' and shootin' and car crashes, and stuff occasionally blows up, but there is nothing approaching a narrative that makes sense or even produces an occasional chuckle. And they clearly spent about a hundred million dollars in the process. Next time: hire a writer.

I saw another review that complained about "little effort at any sort of character development", which is accurate enough, but doesn't come close to capturing the essence of what this film is about. The source material, C. S. Forster's novel "The Good Shephard" is a third-person narrative that details what the Hanks character, Commander Krause, is experiencing in the moment over a period of three or four days. It is a tersely economical war story that focuses on the mechanics of how this part of the war is fought, and how command decisions have to be made deliberately and swiftly, with terrible consequences if errors in judgement are made. This is not "The Winds of War".

The film tells much of it's story visually, with the bulk of the dialogue being Commander Krause's orders given to his crew or to ships captain's on the other escort. Krause has a few confabs with Lieutenant Commander Charlie Cole (very ably played by the terrific Steven Graham) regarding their strategic and tactical options, but aside from that, the dialogue is all business. The viewer is left to observe behavior rather than being spoon-fed verbal cues in order to understand the characters. Hanks is brilliant, conveying his feelings of apprehension, remorse, anger and guilt with his eyes and pursed facial expression. It's a fantastic performance.

Like Hank's other WWII projects (Saving Private Ryan, Band Of Brothers, The Pacific) this is an homage to the ordinary people who undertook this extraordinary work under brutal conditions and the constant threat of horrible suffering and death. I think it's a fantastic movie.

I tend be skeptical of documentary series like this because it's so easy for the filmmakers to manipulate the narrative and the audience's willing suspension of disbelief. Especially in a sports environment, which already has the built-in drama regarding winning and losing.

However, I got completely sucked in almost immediately. This is a very well-crafted examination of an intensely dramatic scenario, with vivid & sympathetic characters who are very clearly defined by their individual circumstances, their personalities, and the depth of their need to succeed. For the young basketball players, the pressure to meet the moment and prevail is a constant theme in their lives, which us older adults can see as agonizingly fraught with peril. IT's a bit like watching a slasher film: "don't go down there! Aggghhh!". You want these kids, who have been given so little in life to see how their daily choices can reverberate across decades. You there, stifle that impulsivity, and do as I say! It is a nerve-wracking and poignant watch.

The head coach is equally fascinating: a deeply devout Christian whose coaching chops would easily translate to Division 1 or 2 college basketball, but chooses to work with kids in East Los Angeles who are struggling to get scholarships to those types of schools. His faith in his players and fervor for guiding them while also constantly tearing them down is a major source of drama. You watch this guy and one minute you're "what a great guy!" and then "what an a*****e!".

And then there are the basketball games, played by real athletes on real teams, some of whom are very talented. The BIG problem with sports movies, is that no matter how hard they try, actors just can't simulate high-level athleticism. The greatest sports movies (not including documentaries) all fail BADLY at presenting athletic performance. These kids can ball.