Crooked Arrows

A fun family movie. Based on sports (lacrosse) and a struggle by native Amicans to be competitive at their traditional sport against wealthy mainstream competition. A warm and happy experience. Hard to find this kind of quality in today's entertainment world.

A limited understanding of lacrosse would add to the enjoyment as the struggle to compete against superior competition would become clearer. But not necessary.

The movie gives a positive image of the native Americans way of life in a way that is rarely seen. It purveys inspiration in facing their challenges without the usual blame. The whole package makes it an unusual, entertaining and fun movie to watch.

Clunky acting and an unbelievably predictable plot

"Restore pride to our people, and their game. That is your first obligation." A Native American prep school lacrosse team is starting another season. Another very long season. When a change is made in order to restore pride in the people Joe Logan (Routh) is assigned as the new coach. A former All-American player himself (although he hasn't played at all since missing the big shot) the school thinks they have the answer. First of all I will say that this is a good and entertaining movie. That said it took me a little more then halfway through before I realized why I was experiencing Deja-vu. The coach of the down-on-its-luck-rag-tag team used to be the star for the best team in the state. He missed the final shot of the season and is shunned. He starts off coaching for personal gain but begins to grow with the team and teaches them what being a team means. I could keep going on about it but what I'm getting at here is that this movie is almost a shot for shot remake of "Mighty Ducks". This one deals with the history of lacrosse in the Native American culture and that part is interesting and the movie is entertaining but don't expect anything original. Overall, a fun movie to watch as a family. I give it a B-.

"Crooked Arrows" is one of those movies that even if you know almost nothing about the sport of Lacrosse you get involved in the game so much so that you might just find yourself yelling at the screen and that is part of "The Formula" that works so very well for movies about sports.

BUT

If you start watching this movie thinking that "The Formula" is all there is to it, get prepared for a BIG Wake-up call.

This movie has managed to twist Native culture, Traditions, History and even Language all together so expertly that you are not only being entertained but being educated at the same time.

Saying that this movie is an emotional roller coaster would be akin to saying that Tecumseh was a great warrior. Both are major understatements.

I'm not going to give anything away here because I really believe that potential viewers should just watch and ENJOY this movie from start to finish without knowing more than what is in the synopsis.

Probably the biggest compliment I can pay the movie is by saying, "I'm Dave Furlotte and I'm a Crooked Arrow."

To the guy who say's it a remake? C'mon... think of all the differences.

• Gordon misses the big shot for real... but Joe misses on purpose - Gordon gives up hockey and becomes a lawyer... Joe gives up LaCrosse and becomes a Casino Manager - Gordon is doing community service... Joe is just pressured into it. - Gordon shows up for the first couple of practices in a suit, talking on his "car phone"... Joe shows up in a suit and talks on his cell phone. - Gordon gets inspiration to turn it around from old hockey store dude.. Joe gets inspiration from old Indian dude. - Gordon gets his boss to sponsor and gets new equipment... Joe buys the new equipment himself. - The Ducks change their name and logo because of sponsorship... the crooked arrows change theirs because they want to. - Gordon recruits the big scary kid from the alley... Joe recruits his from the forest. - Gordon recruits his best player from another team... Joe just has to convince his best player to play. - Gordon takes his kids to a North Star practice for motivation... Joe takes his on a vision quest. - The duck kids fly through the skyway on roller blades... crooked arrow dudes fly through the forest and there is no roller blades involved. - Gordon's love interest with the players mom is new... Joe already had dated the players mom he falls for. - Gordon's falling out with the team involves players leaving... Joe's falling out involves him leaving. - Gordon quits his job for the sake of the team... Joe just screws over a developer. - Gordon's former team they faces in the championship still has his old coach... Joes former team they face in the championship game does not. - Gordon's former team are called "cake-eaters" by his team because they are rich kids... Joe's former team are not called "cake-eaters" even though they are also rich kids. - Gordon's best player gets hurt due to cheap shot in the big game and doesn't come back... Joe's best player gets hurt due to cheap shot and comes back for the final 20 seconds. - Gordon's captain that makes the big shot against his former team that he missed is the son of his love interest... Joe's captain that makes the big shot against his former team that he missed... is "not" the son of his love interest.

The differences are staggering... why one would even see similarity is beyond me.