Prefontaine's life is what makes this movie watchable, not so much the movie itself. However, Jared Leto as Pre, and R. Lee Ermey and Ed O'Neill as Bill Bowerman and Bill Dellinger, respectively (Pre's coaches), offer good, convincing portraits of these historic sports figures. On the minus side, the sound track sounds like it belongs in a 70's made for TV movie, and the film's stadium scenes are unconvincing because the shots of fans are done close up to hide the obvious fact that there's only a hundred people or so in the stands and not the thousands that watched Pre race in reality. The producers should either have spent the money to pay for more actual footage of Pre's races, or paid for the extras to make the stadium scenes more convincing.

Being benched during his Coos Bay, Oregon grade school football games only makes young Steve "Pre" Prefontaine more determined to succeed. He grows up to be beautiful, blonde, and cocky Jared Leto. Fulfilling his athletic dreams in becoming a college track star, Mr. Leto makes it to the 1972 Munich Olympics, which are targeted by terrorists. Leto looks forward to his next Olympiad, but fate has other plans…

Mr. Prefontaine was the subject of two biographical films released almost simultaneously, this one and the bigger-budgeted "Within Limits" (1998) starring Billy Crudup. The two life-telling movies elevate Prefontaine and, upon seeing them, the attention seems warranted. After you get used to his sometimes looking more like a carefully made-up 1970s physique model than a runner, Leto slowly convinces. The use of pseudo-interviews, wobbly camera, actual sports footage, and other filming tricks are less successful, in the long run.

****** Prefontaine (1/24/97) Steve James ~ Jared Leto, R. Lee Ermey, Ed O'Neill, Amy Locane