We Are Marshall (2006)

The Worst Film Ever

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

It's a great movie really. I am suprised the overall rating is below 8. But I see the movie has many 10/10 reviews. Watch this movie, guaranteed it'll be 2 hrs well spent

This film is based on a true and tragic story. The Marshall University football team, football coaches, athletic staff, key alumni, and friends were flying home to Huntington, West Virginia after an away game against East Carolina. Their plane crashed killing all seventy five aboard. How do a University and a small town of 50,000 people respond to a massive tragedy that affected so many students and town residents? This movie is about their struggle to come to grips with that tragedy.Without bitter rancor and with humility, some felt the University should start up a new football team and persevere through a long rebuilding process to honor the dead. Others, again without rancor and with humility, believed that starting up a football team would be too painful a reminder of the tragedy.It was decided to start a new football team immediately and play the next season in 1971. This movie is primarily about the difficulties of the development of the team.Matthew McConaughey plays the new Head Coach brilliantly and believably. He is a combination of country bumpkin enthusiastic huckster and a wise man. And he does it simply because he believes – "Maybe I can help." He displays courage and perseverance and makes sacrifices with a career move that could throw him out of his beloved profession, head football coaching, forever. The town and University have to quickly break the Vince Lombardi- like notion that you play the game of football for one reason only – to win. They learn how you play the game matters, and even simply showing up is a kind of victory too.

Reader be warned that this could contain a spoiler. As it is based on a true story and all of the information is out there anyway, it is probably not; however, if you do not know the story then stop now. The film We Are Marshall is based on a true story. It is about the 1970 Marshall Football team that died in a plane crash, but it is also about so much more; this is a film is also about overcoming adversity. The film begins with the team and their coach as they lose a game against East Carolina University. After the loss, the team boards the plane to fly back to Huntington WV. Two of the coaches have a discussion about who will stay to do a recruiting visit and who will fly back with the team. Coach Red Dawson (Matthew Fox) ends up staying to do the visit. The plane crash happens very early in the movie because the movie is not really about the plane crash itself, but about what happens after that. Two of the recurring issues throughout the film are grief and survivors guilt. There is grief from the parents of players and families of the coaches and boosters who died in crash. Much of the story is about Annie (Kate Mara) who was the fiancée of the quarterback who died. Coach Dawson and one of the surviving players deal with survivor's guilt because they were both supposed to be on the plane. The university faces the decision of whether to try to field a team for the next season or to indefinitely suspend the program. There is a moving scene where the students of the university make it known to the board of trustees that they want the program to continue. Coach Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey) contacts the university to let them know he is interested in the coaching position. A touching visit between the university president Donald Dedmon (David Strathairn) and the coach ensues. Coach Lengyel ends up leading the team to 2 victories that season. Marshall's football program does survive and thrives in the 1980s. This film is sad early on but develops into a feel-good football movie in the vein of The Blindside or Remember the Titans. One difference between We Are Marshall and those two movies is that they are both about overcoming issues off the field to accomplish great things on the field. This movie is about overcoming issues on the field to help resolve issues off the field. The movie does great at recreating the period and location of 1970's Huntington, WV. There is a scene where Coach Red is working on building a shed. He and coach Lengyel are standing atop the structure and you can get a glimpse of the scenery around them. I have been to the area and it did give the same feeling. Overall, a great movie that tells a story about a university and city that overcame great loss and found their way through the sport of football.

Based on a true story, but still very formulaic. The film could have benefited from being grittier and more realistic. It manages to capture the strong and tragic emotions, but when it tries to be inspirational, it pulls out a series of tacky speeches and slow motion back slaps. The story has a great beginning, setting up a town shattering tragedy. The build up is ominous, but still leaves room for surprise. The cast is littered with fantastic actors, from an uncredited Robert Patrick, Ian McShane, and David Strathairn. Each of them plays their roles very well, and I liked the view of different townsfolk. It would have been nice to see more of the town, as McShane and Strathairn are two of the highlights. It also emphasized the painful loss and the needed hope. It does manage to raise some goosebumps, and its raw power is enough to propel it into the end zone. Moving, inspirational, but less than subtle.