Inspired by the true story of the great Bob Ladouceur, a successful football coach, who achieves a great success through his help to the De La Salle team, who struggles against a big failure, the thing that frustrates them, till he manages to help them to regain their self trust, the thing that helps them to achieve a great success.
Most often in its early stages, the melodrama onscreen edges precipitously close to dissolving into a puddle of platitudinous pabulum served in the manner of a rote Sunday school lesson.
...almost as bad as that moment in cinematic history when the real Buzz Aldrin has a conversation with Optimus Prime. Should be retitled: When the Facts Don't Matter
... has its share of embellishments and formulaic tangents, and turns predictable in the second half, with a more traditional structure leading to an obligatory big-game finale.
When the Game Stands Tall is more manipulative than a hulking chiropractor. It's so busy beatifying its protagonist that it makes him into a grave idol rather than a man.
Groucho Reviews
September 20, 2014
We've seen the 'Full eyes, clear hearts, can't lose' ethic before on screen, and more winningly dramatized, but When the Game Stands Tall does a good, and family-friendly, job of encapsulating Ladouceur's 'winning' approach...
A true tale of high school football achievement becomes a strained, by-the-numbers grab bag of uplift in the Christian sports drama "When the Game Stands Tall."
Mixes bland dialogue, formulaic sports-movie plot points, and vague Christian teachings with some disturbingly naïve racial overtones. The story risks inducing concussion as it pounds and thumps its message home, over and over.
