This is a story about a Navajo basketball team, so I wonder why the writers who write the description blurbs on streaming sites and IMBD can't be bothered to state that the team is Navajo, instead of "Native American". OK, that was my one quibble with the way the film is marketed.

The film itself is well produced and has a good cast. The story is, for the most part, believable. It does seem to be aimed at ticking as many boxes as possible for woke points. What's good is the number of relatively new faces in the cast as well as some familiar actors such as Ryan Begay, Kiowa Gordon, Morningstar Angeline and Amber Midthunder. None of the cast did bad jobs with their roles, IMO, all good work.

If you've seen."Hoosiers", then "Rez Ball" will seem very familiar to you. Interestingly, each of the main players are named Jimmy. "Hoosiers", though, doesn't have as strong of a dis-likeable character as does "Rez Ball". The main character in "Rez Ball" is Jimmy, a basketball player. The main character in "Hoosiers" is Coach Norman Dale, played by Gene Hackman. The dis-likeable character in "Hoosiers" is the want-to-be coach, a local cop. "Rez Ball" has some nice scenery; however, Shiprock is much more imposing when seen in person. A documentary was done on Rez Ball in the past few years. The one thing I seem to recall was that the players were, on average, shorter than what is presented in "Rez Ball". Predictable.

Forget the cultural differences, this movie has heart. The tropes are common in sports movies, the underdogs fight back in dire circumstances, but it executes to inspire. It speaks from the perspective of those who have plenty to fight for.

There are many movies to compare to but none that have spoken from the voices that have been unheard for a long time. Think Rocky, Coach Carter, and Remember the Titans.

It's worth a watch based solely on understanding those unlike ourselves but with the same inclination to prove they matter. It is not a perfect movie by any means. The young actors do an excellent job of portraying what others like them direly need. Inspiration.

It's worth the watch.