Cool Runnings (1993)

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This movie actually holds a strange role in my history of movie going. This was a movie that my brother may have quoted the most out of any film ever made. I remember "No problem, mon!" and "...won't take no crap from no one!". I didn't know, "Rise and shine, it's butt-whooping time!" was from this movie too. It was just funny to hear these quotes my brother always said. Anyway, the movie itself is of course good.This was based on a real life event that was featured on Wikipedia's list of unusual articles. It was nice not to see the disclaimer at the end that it wasn't a work of fiction. It did, however still say that some organizations and names were made up. I admit the Jamaican accents can get kind of annoying. It's still great that we have John Candy, a very talented actor. Can you have spoilers for a movie based on a true story? ***

What a funny and inspirational little movie this is. At times, director Jon Turteltaub's film seems almost too good to be true, because it isn't exactly true. While it is based on a true story, the film is heavily fictionalized and most of the characters were created by the scriptwriter. Still, the film is a nice portrait of a quite extraordinary event in sports history."Cool Runnings" is the story of a Jamaican runner named Derice (Leon) who wishes to follow in his father's footsteps and run the 100 meter dash at the Olympics. An unfortunate event keeps him from qualifying at the trials, so he hunts down bobsledding coach Irv Blitzer (John Candy) to help him form the first Jamaican bobsled team. After recruiting best friend Sanka (Doug E. Doug) and some fellow Olympic runners (Rawle Lewis and Malik Yoba), the team takes on the Winter Olympics world, including a hard-nosed Olympic Alliance, to prove the world wrong and show that they belong.The film is not extraordinary in any way, but it can make you feel emotions immensely. After watching the film numerous times, I still chuckle at Sanka's little jokes and goofiness, largely because of an eccentric performance from Doug E. Doug. He does some over-the-top acting in a good way, Leon does some over-the-top acting in a not-so- good way. His portrayal of the leader of this squad is a little too forced, but we still believe in him because he is so determined to win. John Candy was an excellent choice to play Irv. He begins as an impolite bookie and turns into quite a brilliant coach who cares about his guys. He even gives a speech to the Alliance that is intense and surprisingly not very cliché. The film doesn't take any risks in the editing, and has a number of scenes that feel unnecessary, but the story usually covers it up just enough to keep it from being too much of a distraction. It's nice to see a film focus on a country like Jamaica. The accents may be a little overdone at times, and some things might be a little stereotypical, but the culture and reggae soundtrack and score by Hans Zimmer is relieving while enjoying the movie. It's all brought together by no other than Sanka, who at one point reminds Derice of who they are and where they come from. He says, "If we walk Jamaican, talk Jamaican, and is Jamaican, then we sure as hell better bobsled Jamaican." This comes after Derice continuously idolizes the Swiss team, and Doug's delivery is perfect and heartfelt.There is a point in the film where the team is huddling up for their final run, and they shout "Respect!" I love this little bit because it encapsulates the main theme of the film. This story isn't about these guys trying to win the gold or even the silver or bronze. It's about their struggles to gain respect for themselves and for their country. This drive makes the film so riveting and the final scene can send chills down your spine even after watching it for the tenth or fifteenth time. "Cool Runnings" is not the most outstanding sports film, but it's right up there with "Rocky" and "Hoosiers" in terms of having the most heart. It's nearly impossible to not laugh and cheer when watching this story unfold, and there is nothing wrong with that.

It had been about 6/7 years since I had watched Coolrunnings I remember I was rather fond of this film and thought I would try relive it. It was recently put on Netflix and the opportunity arose. Coolrunnings is about a Jamaican bobsled team. The film has likable characters and John Candy as usual plays a brilliant role as the stubborn old coach. Sanka seems to be the most funny I found the one I got the most laughs out of this film is good for two reasons, one - it's based on true events so really it is teaching you the past in a way. Secondly it's just a pleasant film just an OK watch I think once you've seen it a couple of times it does get abit boring but the first few times are well worth the watch. The ending is rather moral and nice

Loosely based on the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team trying to make it to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Plagued by factual errors, and is a forced comedy that may have been smarter (and more authentic) to sell as a drama. Definitely takes a while to get going, but if you have the patience and are eager to make it to the end, you'll find that the laughs and the charming characters are worth the effort. Originally titled "Blue Maaga". Those who make it to the closing credits will be rewarded with Jimmy Cliff's excellent cover of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now".**½ (out of four)