This "movie" is really bad, it had potential but failed to deliver. For starters it would have been a lot better if they would have filmed the football scenes themselves, even if it was just going to an actual Abilene High game and getting some real footage on the field with the actors on the sideline. They didn't do that though, they used the game highlights from the 2009 season that the school district recorded from the press box to show on the local news after the game. It didn't work at all, the footage was grainy and some of it was like 2 or 3 different games rolled into 30 seconds worth of footage. It was hard to follow and get behind the team doing it like that, was who they were playing important and how much meaning did that win have and what was the significance of it?!? It's supposed to be a football movie after all.

If they would have recreated the games the movie could have been more about the drama before, during and after the game. With all that extra footage they could have cut a lot of the cringe story line that was nothing short of hard to watch. Like the kid crying about how good of a man his grandfather was that just died, the gang scenes, the scenes with the brother weighing out drugs and trying to pressure him into joining a gang. All that was cringe, I understand they are focusing more on the players back stories and their struggles off the field but in the end they didn't have the actors or the story line for as much drama as they tried to put into this movie. Should have tried harder to keep it more about football and less about the streets, it would have been a better movie for it.

On the plus side somehow they got Laurence Fishburne and Milo Gibson to make this film, how I don't know, only reason I gave ANY stars was for being able to do that. ?

Love inspirational sports movies with messages of hope and overcoming obstacles, especially when they are true. Tried to watch this on a flight, but gave up after 30 minutes. Other than being introduced to kids from difficult situations, no plot unfolded during that time. Winning scores randomly flashed across the screen periodaclly to show that they were having success as underdogs, but no unfolding storyline was evident other than hard times in a rough town.

This is another "Cinderella" type sports story that has become very popular. Running short on good stories, they shift to a team that was a powerhouse the year before in Abilene, Texas. Rather than focus on the football aspect, they look at the issues the main players have in their family life. Actors played all the real players and outtakes from the real games were used as filler. The religious aspect was comparatively light and Laurence Fishburne played a guy who owns a restaurant and not a coach.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.