A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Clunky acting and an unbelievably predictable plot

Just a fun little movie where the bad guy redeems himself and you get to cheer for the home team. I flipped this movie on just for something on the TV and pretty soon the four of us put down the cell phones, tablet and ipod and were cheering on the Arrows. It had some pretty funny moments, some Yeh! moments, fairly fun sports scenes and even taught you a little about Indian culture. By the end, my 11 yr old daughter, 13 yr old son and wife and I were giving the fist pump! Parents, be sure and be ready to explain what vagina means. It was pretty funny in context, but caught me be surprise. :) You could do much worse for a family movie night.

Joe Logan (Brandon Routh) is a local boy who's trying to make his mark. He wants to negotiate a land deal with a casino owner. In order to make it happen, he must get the agreement from the tribal council. In return he is forced to coach the local Native high school lacrosse team.Brandon Routh has never been one of my favorite actors. Ever since Superman, I have seen nothing but stiff acting from him. In a way, he's perfect for Superman, but he makes a terrible Clark Kent. He's definitely no Christopher Reeve. I'm willing to accept Brandon's limitation here. It's a workable cliché filled family/sports movie. Chelsea Ricketts plays his plucky sister. While he's the coach, she wants to play. Like many sports movie, the final game is too long and too predictable. But it has enough feel good moments to make this work.

"Crooked Arrows" breaks no new ground in plucky underdog sports movies, but does offer a sweet, mostly clean alternative to some of the current theater offerings. It's rated PG-13, but has no graphic sex scenes, contains a positive message, and even a non-lacrosse fan like this one, found the games edge-of-your-seat intense. It does offer proof that sports movie clichés stay the same regardless of the ethnicity of the underdogs, but no film's perfect.Brandon Routh plays the reluctant coach of the Jackpots (later Crooked Arrows) a ragtag public high school lacrosse team made of mostly Native Americans. He's also responsible for negotiating a land deal with a shady white guy, and is regarded by most his tribe, as a sell-out. Tensions come to a head when his dad opposes selling the land, and the council decides that dad gets to stipulate what Routh must do in return. The team is sufficiently pugnacious (they start a brawl after losing to a snooty prep school), but they need a coach who can channel their aggression and boost their confidence enough to be serious contenders. Also, they need much better equipment, which to the movie's credit, is dealt with openly.The players break down into recognizable types: the goofy, fat kid; the insanely talented guy who needs to learn to be a team player; the spunky tomboy who's got more cojones than all her teammates put together, etc. The opposing coach who coached the teenaged Logan, is blond, scowly and borderline psychotic - and at one point, in perhaps a nod to The Karate Kid, bellows, "No mercy!" from the sidelines during a game. Unsurprisingly, the team will learn valuable lessons in life, and the coach will also grow as a person. As a Mr. Miyagi-like mentor figure puts it, there's a reason lacrosse is called "the Medicine Game."