- Title: Glory Road
- IMDb: link
“Nobody can take something away from you you don’t give them.”
After telling the tale of integration of T.C. Williams High School football with Remember the Titans producer Jerry Bruckheimer returns to familiar ground with this tale inspired by the true events of Don Haskins (Josh Lucas) and Texas Western, the first team to start five African-American players in an NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game.
In much the same way as Titans this film deals with the hardships and racism from both inside and outside the program. As a Disney film it’s a bit cleaned up considering its subject matter, though it does contain one or two disturbing scenes which make you wonder exactly how it received its PG rating.
The cast is strong and there are some nice supporting performances, hey nobody plays an asshole coach like Jon Voight, and Emily Deshanel has a nice role as Mary Haskins. Also worth noting all the players, including Derek Luke, Austin Nichols, Evan Jones, Schin A.S. Kerr, and Alphonso McAuley, who turn out good performances both on and off the court.
Because of the familiarity and similarities with Remember the Titans the film does have a been-there, done-that, feel to it at times. I wouldn’t call it a great sports film, but it is a good one; the performances are strong, and there’s certainly enough here to recommend in a tale worth telling, and listening to.