Glory Road

Starring: Josh Lucas, Derek Luke, Jon Voight, Emily Deschanel, Austin Nichols, Tatyana Ali
Directed by: James Gartner
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama, Sport
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) decided to coach the 1965-1966 Texas Western Miners. He and his team faced terrible opposition when Coach Haskins decided to become the first basketball team in NCAA history to start five black players.

Review:

Tim: Yay, another inspirational sports movie. Sure, this one is a little different, but no less formulaic than the countless other based-on-a-true story sports movies. I've said this before, but it is slightly annoying that these films all follow the same pattern, and yet are far too enjoyable ti garner much criticism. To be fair, this true story is at least worth mentioning and is of such a cultural significance tht it is well worth a movie. It is on this front that the film succeeds most.

The basketball scenes are decent, but there isn't much that we haven't seen before. The film really makes an impact when it depicts the vile racism that the Texas Western team had to overcome throughout their year. In this manner, the film gives us an emotional blow similar to the one delivered in Remember the Titans. For this reason, the film is very important for young people to watch, because it really depicts the ignorance of racism and the damage it can cause.

The cast is good. Josh Lucas gives a strong performance as Coach Don Haskins. Look for a nearly unrecognizeable Jon Voight. The rest of the cast is decent, especially Tatyana Ali (Fresh Prince!) and Derek "Friday Night Lights" Luke.

Glory Road is similar to the multitude of Disney inspirational sports movies, but this story is incredibly important for people to learn about and remember, so it is well worth your time, even if you've seen this tale countless times before.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Friday Night Lights, Remember the Titans, We Are Marshall, Hoosiers