Just saw this movie today (advance screening, comes out 12/22 I believe) and it was AWESOME. Highly recommend it. Based on a true story. Matthew Macconaughey and Matthew Fox along with a strong supporting cast and flinch-inducing action. I knew part of the story going in and still jolted at how it was presented. I just with MM would stop smirking so much... this movie shows he can do drama also.

I didn't realize until the credits rolled that McG directed this. The movie was what I thought it would be. I'm mildly familiar with the story, and the movie basically tells the story, and its a good one (the story, that is). At the end they tell what happens with everyone it's kind of a downer, but it is realistic. I liked the story so I generally liked the movie.

i saw it yesterday and knew a little about the premise. enjoyed the film alot, minus the old people trying to point out someone that they knew that was an extra in movie.

overall, i'd give it a

After I saw Rocky I walked into this movie since it was just about to start and let me tell you that this is one great movie. When I saw the previews it looked really lame with everyone chanting we are marshal. It was such an amazing film. I'm glad I saw it and I was super surprised when the credits ran and McG was the director.

Wow! I'm surprised this movie only managed about $6M. There were alot of bad reviews saying this was a typical chiched sports movie. It's not going to get any better in the weeks ahead.

For those who have seen it - how would you rate Matthew Fox's performance?

This was the most anticipated movie of the year for me. I was really disappointed, not in the performances, they were good, but the way they told the story. We are asked to grieve over a team we don't get to know anything about. (Unless you consider: "Pick me up a case of beer" as character development) I think they should have spent a good 20 minutes getting to know the 1970 team that was killed in the plane crash. As it is, we only get to know 1 player in the entire film. They probably should have shown more about how the crash affected the emergency rescuers, the families waiting at the airport for loved ones to return home. I think this would have drawn the audience more into the real suffering by the whole community. Instead we get a very awkward backstory about a waitress & a player's father. There is very little of Huntington, WV. & Marshall's campus in this film. Not sure why, as Marshall has tons of memorabilia dedicated to the 1970 & 1971 teams. All the football scenes were filmed elsewhere. What happened to the song "Carry On"? It was in the trailer, and would have fit this film perfectly, instead we get "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes".

I know "We are Marshall" was supposed to be about rebuilding a football program, but these stories overlap so much, we needed to see something more about the people who where on the plane.

i agree that there wasn't much in the way of a back story or an not a lot of development for the characters. i would have really liked to know how the quarterback's father came to be the chairman of the board, etc. oh well, still enjoyed it.

i heard on tv that the we are marshall chant scene took two days to film.

Maybe Warner Bros wanted this to be a "feel good" movie of the year. I still plan to check this movie out, but I agree if the movie didn't focus more on the tragedy, it would end up being just another cliched sports movie.

I saw it and I completely agree with you. The early/middle of the movie takes a very sudden shift in tone (for me) with the recruiting of players/bonding as a team scenes. Those moments were very generic and seemed like it could have been plugged into any football movie. I dunno, but I think they really could have mined the sorrows and suffering in the community and put together an inspiring football movie.

Still, I thought it was pretty good, but it could have been better.

I was really disappointed with this movie. It's not that I disliked any of the characters, I just didn't care about them. Of course the plane crash and loss of life was sad, but since there was virtually no character development, so it was hard to get the emotional connection that these types of film need in order to be good, IMO. Neither one of the Matthews performances were especially captivating, and the film also suffered because of it.

"We Are Marshall" is a very respectful re-telling of the tragedy that befells Marshall University's football program in the form of a plane crash after one of their away football games in 1970, and the struggle to bring their football program back from the burning embers, basically square one.

There is a lot of heart in this film, as well as courage to move on from such a tragedy and to strive for normalcy and excellence both on and off the field.

While Matthew McConaghey's Coach Lengyel is a somewhat odd but enthusiastic coach who offers to coach Marshall when no one else would step up and take the reins, Matthew Fox's Coach Dawson is a study in coping with the guilt of a second chance at life, while carrying the burden of honoring the fallen coaches, players, and fans. The supporting cast is very good, and the script is actually pretty good considering the 127 minute running time, I never had the urge to look at my watch, too engrossed in the story of hope and perserverance. I was surprised when McG's name showed up as the director because he displayed a good touch with balancing the emotional undercurrents with rebuilding of the football program one tackle at a time.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

I saw it today and for the most part I agree with Patman's review. I really enjoyed the performances and I thought the story was paced very well.

My only problems with the movie are:
1. Not enough background on the players and coaches that died in the tragedy. We briefly get introduced to them in the 1st act and then they are gone. I didn't really feel any emotional attachment to them.
2. The movie just couldn't avoid the same old sports cliches that have been used over and over again.

Overall I would give it a solid B

I hope that when the DVD is released in a few months Warner will at least provide:
1. Commentary by Jack Lengyel and Red Dawson (wishful thinking)
2. A news report or featurette detailing the events of the 1970 tragedy and interviews with the surviving coaches and players from that team.

I saw it last night, and very much enjoyed the flick, it centered just as much around the tragedy that it didn't feel too much like recent sentimental footbal flicks(remember the titans). AS far as the eventual dvd the commentary could be possible, remember the titans had the commentary with the real Herman Boone and Bill Yost. With that featurette as much archival footage that was used at the end it could happen to.

Sorry to bump a year-old thread (but at least it's not some sale that ended in 2006 like it a certain other forum), but I finally got around to watching this movie. I liked it, but did ultimately seem like a generic sports movie in the end when you strip away what the town lost (which shouldn't be too hard since this movie barely touched the surface and instead went with a lot of broad strokes). And in that regard, this "sports movie" fell short of a Remember the Titans or Miracle.

I have to wonder what kind of movie this could've turned out to be if there was a legitimate director behind the lens instead of McG. And they totally wasted Kimberly Williams and January Jones in nothing roles. Also, what the hell was with Matthew McConaughey's performance?

I also just watched it. My impression was different than most - I thought it was excellent. Really, really good.

I never for a second thought "not enough back story about the team," because I don't think it matters. It's not necessarily about losing good people; it's about rebuilding and coping.

My two cents.

I loved it, and will watch it again this week or next with my wife.

Saw it, wasn't that impressed though of course the plane crash itself was tragic. That was the only plane trip the team was taking that year which is why so many boosters were on the plane (4 of the town's six doctors were on it as an example).

Anyway, so I thought it was going to be a story of a team that rose from the ashes and was a good team. No, they sucked. So I though that the team would win the national championship after four years since many of the players were playing as freshmen. Nope, they still sucked when they were seniors. As the film pointed out, the team had the worst win-loss record of any college during the 1970s.

So it's a feel good story about a group of strangers who come together to make solely because they have the unique opportunity to make a team because the old team died. And the new team that they created - it sucked.

I'll give this film a C- solely because of the kick-ass soundtrack.