It’s kind of weird to make a movie about sports, since you can watch actual sports every day on pretty much every channel known to man. You’d think we’d be oversaturated in our visual sports department, but alas! We crave more of these things, and we crave them with intricate plots and a good chunk of Hollywood-sauce on top of it!
While not all sports movies have been good – I’d even say most are pretty goddamn bad – some have stood the test of time and are a pretty enjoyable to watch. Are they Oscar material? Well, sometimes. Depends on how bad the other movies that year were, I guess. But most of the time, let’s just say we can’t all finish first.
Let’s take a look at some sports movies that aren’t all that horrible to watch.
Million Dollar Baby
It’s a Clint Eastwood movie about Clint Eastwood who trains Hilary Swank to become a world class boxer, but it doesn’t really go according to plan. Good movie, I’m not going to spoil it. You should watch it.
Rocky
Sylvester Stallone’s breakthrough role. Another boxing movie, but another good one.
The Wrestler
This movie stars Mickey Rourke as a wrestler trying to make his comeback in the ring. But it’s totally to heal the dysfunctional relationship between him and his daughter.
Coach Carter
Samuel L. Jackson teaches some punks that basketball is about more than just winning the games, and transforms them into men.
Rush
Starring Thor and Zemo, this movie has nothing at all to do with Captain America or any of the other Avengers. It’s about Niki Lauda and James Hunt and their F1 rivalry back in the 70s.
Gridiron Gang
A movie where The Rock and Xzibit (I know, right?) teach a bunch of teenage convicts the game of American Football in the hopes of reintegrating them into society by teaching them respect and teamwork.
Remember The Titans
The story of the first black coach to lead a racially integrated team in the 70s in good ol’ Virginia. An amazing Denzel Washington takes the lead role.
The Beautiful Boxer
Another non-fictional story, this one is about transgender Muay Thai boxer Parinya Charoenphol (try saying that 10 times in a row) who played the sport to pay for her sex change operation.
Ali
Jesus Christ, what is with these boxing movies? Will Smith plays Muhammad Ali, the best boxer to have ever lived on this planet.
Raging Bull
What? You thought I couldn’t fit five boxing movies in this list? You underestimate my power. This Scorsese classic with Robert De Niro in the lead role really had to be in this list more than any other movie. De Niro plays a self-destructive (as if there’s any other kind) boxer, and he does so pretty amazingly.
