Ned Hanlan was Canada's most successful sculling champion at the turn of the 20th century. This dramatization of his life begins in his youth, when the wild young man is informally adopted by a gambler who promotes Ned on the sculling circuit, betting on the boy's rowing skills solely to make money off him. Later, a ruthless businessman named Knox takes over Ned's career, but when Ned realizes how dishonest Knox is, he finds another manager. Walter is an inventor and the first honest man Ned has dealt with in his career and, under Walter's guidance, Ned rises to great success in the sculling world.
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Reviews
That was an excellent one.
Great Film overall
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
Nicholas Cage plays Canadian rowing champion, Ned Hanlan, from his humble beginnings rowing illegal liquor across the border, to his championship race in England. The problem is, you've seen it all before. Pick any boxing, baseball, or football film, and you will be on very familiar ground with "The Boy in Blue". In addition, Cage's romance of Cynthia Dale comes across as really sappy and uninteresting. The movie plays like a series of Victorian postcards. Even usually reliable villain, Christopher Plummer, is no more ruthless than a puppy dog. This movie is way too predictable, toothless, and sugar coated, and does not live up to expectations. - MERK
Rocky meets Canadian Heritage Minutes, so be thankful that it's not absolutely unwatchable. The underdog-friendly class consciousness is pervasive and fitfully amusing, although it's schematic and sentimental as well. Heroic rowing star/bootlegger Nicolas Cage is his usual dopey, wooden, charming self, and he has some lively moments, especially when he comes into conflict with the starched shirt types. Christopher Plummer's villainous manager is nothing to write home about, but even he transcends this material; in all other cases the costumes and hair seem to be doing all the acting. The frantically underlined Careful Research, and the general odor of educational intent, smother the valiant gestures at comedy, and the pricey period detail of the production design is wholly undermined by a dramatic arc that is pure 1980s bootstrap trash.
Unless you like movies about rowing, this movie is a little slow. The only thing this film has in common with Chariots of Fire is the fact that its a period piece. The film is predictable even if you never heard of Ned Hanlan. It's a little "sappy" at times. The acting is a bit over the top and wooden with little chemistry felt between Cage and Dale. SPOILER The training scene for the race on the Thames looked like it was stolen from one of the "Rocky" films but without the speed bag. If you like to be bored to tears or need a non-narcotic to fall asleep this would be a good film for you. ** out of *****
Nick Cage was only 22 when he made this period piece. Chariots of Fire (1981) must have been in the back of his mind. Ned Hanlon was not a big enough name to interest the viewer, and he was a naive young man. But it was a nice, but not remarkable movie. He did build his pecs up for this-- he always gets into his character.
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