Best

The main thing was thinking about when i watched this film was i can understand why George Best never turned up the premier because if he did he would have gone through some real emotions. This movie was about as negative as you can get about a person .It hardly focused on the truly genius things George Best could do but more on the things ruined his career and some would say his life. I would have like to have seen more of a positive aspect shown but i dont suppose thats what most people want to see , they want to see the headline grabbing incidents that George made , and still does. What i will say about the film is that it is acted superbly by all the cast especially the lead man and the football fotage is mixed well. Not a bad movie at all , but just a little too negative for mine ( and i suspect most peoples) liking. 6 out of 10

Dissapointing telling of Georges life. It is just montages of him being drunk interwoven with his skills on the footy field. No character is really explored, we see Bobby Charlton recounting the Munich disaster, but that is as far as any characterisation goes. Decent performances, especially Lynch as when he plays the older George Best. The film is not Man United, more like Luton Town Reserves. Shame because it could of been so much more.

This is dreadful. Jon Lynch is not handsome enough to play the part of George Best. We see nothing of the wit of the real character - merely a paranoid alcoholic. This film doesn't capture the soul of George Best at all. I am sure even ardent fans of Man United (which I am not) will find this film appalling. It's time to do a newer version now that the real George has passed away. With regard to other characters in the film, Linus Roache does a passable Denis Law, Ian Bannen is convincing as Matt Busby and Jerome Flynn is a good enough Bobby Charlton. One thing I found laughable though was that the same actor played the barman and Tommy Docherty - once with a wig, the other time without. Did they not have enough money to pay two actors ?

Being a Man United fan probably makes me a bit biased on the subject of George Best.Hence the views expressed herein would not befit those going to watch a film to entertain them.

Although the movie's attempt has been made to please audiences with no taste for the game of football(soccer)it still has a fair amount of jargon on the game.I am afraid that someone in the States or any other country which football is not prominent or not as popular will never have heard of Manchester United least George Best.

In the film we are taken in a roller coaster ride with the life of the very famous Irish lad,Best.Since he arrived at Old Trafford to his last days in the club.At first the film gives you the impression it will show you what made him a legend in his field but slowly we are dragged into his persona and feel as drunk as he is.The overall view of the movie is actually making you sense what the man went through in a life of turmoil and confusion but soon has you displaced somewhere between limbo and Vodka.The acting is slow at times with John Lynch(George Best) as baffled as the part he is playing.Its only when we catch Ian Bannen(Sir Mat Busby)in a scene, that the plot all of a sudden comes alive with some rationality.The direction is erratic at times and we are moved from scene to scene at a hectic pace not really knowing what year all these events are unfolding.Its only those who know the history of the club that have an idea.But as expounded before, Mary McGuckian tries not to indulge the cinema goer with anything to do with the game,only to illustrate what made George Best tick inside.

All in all a poor attempt to portray a living legend without actually showing good coverage of the sport he excelled in.The glimpses we catch him playing,albeit well camouflaged with real shots of Best from afar and close shots of Lynch,are few to analogue his rise and fall.Its only when we see the real thing that we can understand what a genius Best was.

5/10 rating for Best. 10/10 for George Best

As George Best has said, it is always difficult translating a sportsman's life to film, and this is no exception. In fact, the viewer needs to know the story of Best first to be able to follow the quick changes in character. We see George Best arriving in Manchester as a naive kid, experiencing a rapid rise to stardom, and just as swift a decline into alcoholic stupor, but without any idea of why. John Lynch co-wrote the script but seems all wrong for the charismatic Best. He remains sombre throughout, even when the team are on top. Ian Bannen gives a solid reading, in one of his last roles, as team manager Matt Busby, but again, the part is unlightening about his relationship with George. Of the supporting cast, I can only single out Linus Roache who is remarkably like the real Best teammate Denis Law, in speech and mannerisms.

The picture does have a lot of digitally retouched football footage, adding the actors into the action, but it is often shown from odd angles that lessen the impact. Why didn't they just use the actual players for these sequences ?

So, this joins the list of disappointing sporting lifes. Better to watch a documentary about the man instead to see the real magic.