The Movie

It's hard to make a sports movie nowadays that isn't filled to the brim with clichés. You know, the underpaid, bottom of the barrel, underdog team that overcomes all odds to make it to the championship game. These type of movies are a dime a dozen. So, if you're a filmmaker and you know your movie is going to be loaded with clichéd moments, how do you make it unique? Don't know? Well, apparently Michael Corrente, the director for A Shot At Glory didn't either.

It's clear a lot of love and affection went into the production of A Shot At Glory, but it really doesn't offer anything new, and is anything but original. It's the story of a small 2nd tier Scottish soccer team (football to them) from the beautiful seaside village of Kilnockie. The team hasn't won a championship in more than a century and must win the Scottish Cup this year in order to keep their new American owner, (played by Michael Keaton) from moving the team to Ireland. The Knockies head coach Gordon McLeod, (played by Robert Duvall) is a hard-edged religious man who has never forgiven his daughter for marrying a man he didn't approve of. Controversy occurs when the owner hires Jackie McQuillan, a hotshot soccer player (played by real life soccer great, Ally McCoist) to come and lift the Knockies out of the dumpster. Tempers fly because Jackie, an arrogant womanizer, is the same man that married, and left, the coaches' daughter.

A Shot At Glory is a sentimental film and is beautifully shot. However, the movie concentrated too closely on the soccer action rather then the characters, thus leaving them out to dry. There just wasn't enough character development for the viewer to truly believe these people have changed for the better. Will Jackie overcome his drinking problem and arrogant ways, and return to his wife to be a loyal father? Will Gordon finally swallow his stubbornness and forgive his daughter after all these years? Will the Knockies save their team from being sent to Ireland? Given the nature of this movie, you don't have to be a genius to figure out the answers to these questions. But what just doesn't work is that the movie doesn't do an adequate job of showing us how, and why these people have changed. Jackie goes from having sex with another woman one night, to falling in love with his wife again nearly the next day. What caused this revelation all of a sudden? Unfortunately these scenarios happen all too often in this movie.

The performances for the most part were all decent. Duvall, whom I feel is one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood, gives a great performance and effectively shows a lot of emotion. However his over-the-top Scottish accent was almost too much for me to handle. Duvall lays it on so thick, that he ends up being the hardest person to understand in the whole movie. Even the "real" Scottish actors were easier to understand. He came across as an actor who was trying way too hard to impress us with his grasp of the dialect, and incidentally made his dialogue nearly impossible to understand at times. Keaton's portrayal of the energetic, money-lustful owner was really quite good, and deserved more screen time. The surprise however was Ally McCoist, who showed that he's just as comfortable in front of the camera as he is on the field surround by thousands of soccer fanatics.


The DVD

Video: The movie is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality looked exceptional, and is clear of any digital noise or unwanted dust and debris. There were no obvious signs of edge enhancement, and the colors (although dingy in appearance) looked clean and accurate. Overall this is a very clean digital transfer.

Audio: A Shot At Glory gives you a 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track. The audio is easily audible and the score ads nicely to the feel of the movie. The rear surrounds and LFE channel don't get much action, but it isn't really missed here. However it would have been nice to have a more encircling "crowd feel" during the game scenes.

Extras: There are no special features offered on this disc.


Final Thoughts

A Shot At Glory is a movie that meant a lot to Robert Duvall, who fought hard to get this movie made. It has some meaningful moments and above average sports action scenes, but ultimately fails to separate itself from the vast amount of mediocre sports movies in circulation right now. If you are an avid soccer fan, I'd definitely recommend renting it. Even if you're not, you might enjoy the softer sentimental side this movie has to offer. Rent It