Greetings, reader!
My dive into the best films of various genres continues, with this week's focus being on the greatest sports films of all time. As per usual, the films are ranked based on a convoluted balance between the film's overall cinematic greatness, how much of a role the sports element plays in the end product and how interesting the sport element is, in order to make it a ranking of how great these are as sports movies. I hope you enjoy!
Here are my honorable mentions: Invictus (2009), Miracle (2004), Rocky II (1979), Slap Shot (1977), The Beautiful Game (2024).
10. Raging Bull (1980)
With its thematic exploration of family dynamics, Italian-American culture and rage (and how these three can intertwine), as well as a leading performance that many have called the best in Robert De Niro's prolific career, Raging Bull is certainly more than just a boxing movie.
That being said, the sport element cannot be understated: before this film, films about this sport had relied on shooting the boxing sequences from outside the ring, but Martin Scorsese, ever the revolutionary filmmaker, had the genius idea to take the cameras into the ring for a more intimate visual. This makes for boxing scenes that are thrilling to follow, even for someone who cares as little about the sport as I do.
9. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Skillfully directed by Gurinder Chadha, this flick cross-references soccer (football for my European readers), feminism and religion in a culturally fascinating combination of themes. The end result is a memorable film, with plenty of football imagery and training sequences to enjoy, even though it's very debatable whether the sport is the story's #1 focus or not.
8. Jerry Maguire (1996)
This thoroughly lovable 90's flick takes a different approach to the world of sports than most on today's list, zeroing in on the world of sports agents as its focal point. Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Renée Zellweger all provide dynamite performances as the central sports agent, the controversial NFL rookie who becomes his most important client, and the love interest who ties into the rest of the story in a heartfelt manner.
Having coined phrases like "Show me the money!" and "You had me at hello", Jerry Maguire is a modern classic in its own right, and the look it takes at a side of the sports world we don't often see on TV is illuminating.
7. Challengers (2024)
It's always a treat when a film from the current year makes it all the way to an all-time top 10 - you don't see much of that, as many fellow list-making movie buffs are affected by nostalgia bias and tend to immediately disregard anything 'too new'. Granted, films like Challengers haven't yet gotten the chance to show how well they stand the test of time and whether they will be forgotten or considered classics 20 years from now, but just as an individual person who has seen the old classics and new films like this one, I would definitely put Challengers up there among the greats of sports cinema.
While it is about more than just tennis (and let's be real, none of these films are just about the sport, as there are always elements of humanity involved in the story of a great sports film), the sport certainly plays a huge part. The actual tennis sequences are riveting to watch, with Luca Guadagnino's unconventional directing choices and Sayombhu Mukdeeprom's cinematography really capturing the fast-paced intensity of the sport with some beautiful shots. Elements like coaching, the pressure of going pro, the financial side of the sport and the psychological toll of struggling to keep on one's level are also explored, making for a well-rounded tennis flick that is also a great character drama.
6. Rocky (1976)
It speaks to the power of cinema that three of the films in my all-time favorite sports films are about boxing, even though it is without a doubt one of the least interesting sports to follow to my subjective taste. I've never given a shit about boxing, but it cannot be denied that the sport has made for some dynamite movies. Rocky is chief among them, and its acclaim is certainly deserved - a rags-to-riches narrative, a great love story and some fantastic acting are all intertwined into the tale of a down-on-his-luck boxer.
The film spends much of its runtime building up to the big fight at the end, with this buildup including words of wisdom from Rocky's (Sylvester Stallone) coach Mickey (Burgess Meredith) and a beyond-iconic training montage to the backdrop of an amazing soundtrack. When the climactic fight finally occurs, it is worth the wait, even if the film is in many ways more about the journey than the destination.
5. Moneyball (2011)
In Finland, we play a different sort of baseball with different rules, and I used to hate playing it at school because I was so bad at it. I know even less about American baseball and the world of the MLB, and I am even more out of my depth on the subject of the mathematics of computer algorithms. So, on paper, a film about how a Major League Baseball coach revolutionized the sport by utilizing a groundbreaking computer-generated analysis wouldn't seem to be destined the film for me on paper. But, any idea can be made accessible and humane by the right writer, and very few can write movies as well as Aaron Sorkin.
Moneyball can't be too dumbed-down, as baseball fans apparently love it as well, but it sure as hell succeeds in telling the story with such dialogue that the most out-of-his-depth viewer can stay on track while feeling smart at understanding the fast-paced dialogue and cool sport sequences. It's also one of the best-acted sport flicks out there - Brad Pitt has a ball in the lead role, Jonah Hill knocks it out of the park, and Robin Wright's performance is a total home run.
4. The Karate Kid (1984)
Oh yes! This fist-pumping classic gives an interesting account of an interesting sport, while telling a properly decent human story via the lens of a preparing for, and participating in, a karate competition. Wherever you land on the "was Daniel (Ralph Macchio) really the hero or was he actually the villain" / "was Johnny (William Zabka) really the villain or was he actually the hero" discourse, I think we can all agree that the true star of the show is Mr. Miyagi, played by Pat Morita in an Oscar-nominated performance. His gripping story makes for a fascinating characer study, and the ways in which he coaches the titular kid in the ways of karate really are the essence of the film.
3. Creed (2015)
Yes, I am of the opinion that Creed, the legacy sequel (or reboot? It's a gray area) to the Rocky franchise, is even better than the original. This is due to many reasons, all of which tie into greatness as a sports movie in particular, and not just as cinema in general.
First of all, Ryan Coogler does an even better job directing than John G. Avildsen did with the original Rocky, and therefore the boxing scenes are just so good - once again, it is a sport I do not care about, but with Coogler's directing, it's intense and riveting action. The character dynamics are also the absolute best in the franchise - the decision to focus on Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), the son of the antagonist from the original film, while an aging Rocky Balboa (Stallone) takes the role of reluctant yet ultimately inspiring coach, was quite genius. Michael B. Jordan proves to be the Michael Jordan of acting with his sledgehammer performance, and Stallone's acting is the best he's ever done, really nailing the gritty yet sentimental vibe the film called for.
2. Goal! The Dream Begins (2005)
I know, I'm a bit biased here, as football (soccer, to my American readers) is my all-time favorite sport by quite a margin. So naturally, it's quite impossible to rank and compare sports movies without giving the football films some advantage points just for the fact that the subject matter is inherently more interesting to me.
That is the biggest advantage of the first Goal! movie - it's the ultimate football film, for all intents and purposes. But it's got a lot more going on for it as well, succeeding as a sports movie in general and not just a fun watch for soccer enthusiasts. It's a beautiful rags-to-riches story, sure to hit you right in the feels both with the human elements and the football fairytale inherent to the plot.
1. 42 (2013)
This is the shit. Based on the true story of Jackie Robinson, the first Black man to play in the MLB, 42 is a tale of discrimination, fighting the odds, and societal growth and progress in the framework of American sports. It feels like such an appropriate #1 for this list, as it highlights the biggest problems of the sports world (institutions that have been designed to be difficult to change, therefore often hindering progress), as well as its beauty (witnessing the story of such a trailblazer, getting to live out his dream and do what no one had done before him, and the impact this had on American society and the civil rights movement).
The late great Chadwick Boseman is amazing in the lead role, as are T.R. Knight and Harrison Ford in their supporting performances. The obstacles Jackie Robinson faced, the insane amount of courage and guts his career took, and the uplifting way in which he made the world a better place make for a legendary sports tale worth telling, and this film tells it well.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I continue my movies-by-genre project with the top 10 science fiction movies of all time.
No comments:
Post a Comment