Ken Carter is the no-nonsense coach and his return to his old high school to reshape the basketball team with the aim of making them the best both on court and in academics.
Although this is an inspirational genre pic that pushes all the requisite buttons throughout, you canâ(TM)t help but feel that rather than benching the team, director Thomas Carter should have benched a few of those ham-fisted sporting clichà (C)s instead.
How terribly ironic that the story of an educator who dared to challenge the mental capacity of his students can produce a film that so shamelessly spoon-feeds its audience.
With another in a long line of strong performances by Jackson, and some excellent basketball choreography, Coach Carter is fun, hopeful, occasionally silly and, what can I say, inspiring.
Samuel Jackson returns to form behind a long string of disappointing performances as an ethically minded basketball coach at a tough inner city high school in Richmond, California.
Carter gives every sports-drama cliche a chance to play. No bad idea is benched.
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide
December 11, 2008
By making the choices the filmmakers did here, we get a movie that may not be profound, but it's both highly entertaining for its sports and fascinating for its social issues.
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
December 22, 2010
Engaging film with a terrific message.
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
March 25, 2008
This is supposed to be about setting high standards, yet it's full of fudged ultimatums; in the end I couldn't be sure whether its morality was complex or just confused.
