The Greatest Game Ever Played
September. 30,2005 PGA biopic of 20-year-old Francis Ouimet who defeated his golfing idol and 1900 US Open Champion, Harry Vardon.
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Reviews
Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Best movie ever!
Awesome Movie
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
This is a feel good triumph against the odds uplifting true story about a amateur golfer from a poor background who won the US Open golf championship in 1913. The snobbery and class barriers he had to overcome seem a little exaggerated for effect. Shia La Beouf as Francis Ouimet is endearing and his 10 year old caddy is a scene stealer. The David vs Goliath tournament is quite exciting as he takes on the British Champion Henry Vardon played sympathetically by Stephen Dillaine. It's interesting to see that Vardon himself faced class discrimination in the sport.The actor Bill Paxton is a good director. The photography is interesting with a mix of shots and visual effects to make the movie exciting even for non golf players.
Disney tells a wonderful underdog saga with "The Greatest Game Ever Played," the true story of Francis Ouimet, the father of amateur golf, directed by Bill Paxton, starring Shia LaBeouf, Stephen Dillane, Marnie McPhail, Elias Koteas, Josh Flitter, and Stephen Marcus.The Massachusetts-born Ouimet was the child of a Canadian father and Irish mother, who grew up across the street from a country club, where he started caddying at the age of 11. Golf at that time was prominent in Britain, and the British were the world's best golfers. It was a sport of the rich. Francis Ouimet, like the great British golfer, Harry Vardon, came from poor circumstances. In one of the first scenes, Vardon is summoned to an exclusive club. He believes, as a golf champion, that he is being invited to become a member; instead, the club wants him to work for them.Against his father's wishes, Ouimet begins to compete as an amateur golfer, ultimately qualifying for the U.S. Open in 1913. The championship resulted in a three-way playoff between Vardon, Ted Roy, and Ouimet. Ouimet's upset win popularized amateur golf in the United States.Ouimet's caddie was a ten-year-old boy, Eddie Lowery, whose brother couldn't caddie because he was caught by a truant officer.Bill Paxton has done a great job directing this rousing film, giving the viewer the feeling that his is there on the course, watching the various shots as they travel across the green.The performances are excellent, with LaLaBeouf doing an amazing job as Ouimet, who puts up with prejudice and hardship to live his dream. As Eddie, Josh Flitter is fantastic as Eddie, a little adult with sage advice. Standouts in the rest of the cast are Stephen Dillane as Harry Vardon, and the actors who play Ouimet's parents, Elias Koteas in a very emotional, heartfelt performance as Francis' tough, protective father, and Marnie McPhail, a pretty woman who exudes warmth as Francis' loving and encouraging mother.Highly recommended - this is an inspiring film for the whole family, beautifully produced and acted.
Let me get this straight - I hate golf. I hate it to the core. I decided to watch this movie purely because of the acting talent on show. Even after the first 5 mins, I was still unable to prevent my preconceived notions of golf from affecting my movie-viewing experience. But after two hours - BOYY..I've never been so wrong about something before..This movie is an EPIC..The very best Sports MOVIE I've ever seen..Some of the scenes are truly sensational..The one where Vardon stares straight at Francis when the entire crowd was looking in the direction the ball went off Francis' tee..And the scene where Francis comes to the support of his truly adorable cute little Caddie(By far the cutest child actor I've ever seen)..They were priceless..The emotional depth of the story involving various struggles..The father-son relationship..The fractious upper and lower class relationships..The struggle to realize one's dreams - make this a movie everyone can relate to. After watching the intricacies involved in playing the sport of Golf, I have only one word to describe my changed perspective towards it - "RESPECT".
I actually trawled through the entire set of reviews, searching for the ones which gave this film less than 5 stars. They were few and far between. Which is utterly baffling! Yes, I know it's a Disney film and it isn't directed by Christopher Nolan, but good Lord. This is straight-to-the-bargain-bucket nonsense. They should've had done with it and animated the bloody thing.And what's even worse is the fact that IMDb won't let me simply finish my rant there, because my review needs to be longer! The "Awesome" in-game camera shots are LITERALLY taken from Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf on the Playstation, the story plods like a sulking school boy, the multi-stranded character and plot development cripples an already weak setup, and the grand finale is plain boring.Aside from that, it really was the greatest film I've ever seen in my entire life. Good, authentic-looking costumes, sets and sports equipment. There, I said it.