The Junction Boys

If you're a fan of Tom Berenger you might like this film somewhat. He's one of my favorites but still I didn't find much enjoyment out of this true tale of legendary Football coach "Bear" Bryant.

Berenger's performance was very good, I thought, having read that the actual "Bear" was a really tough S.O.B. in real life. Everything else here is mostly mediocre. The film depicts well the hell these boys went through under his leadership but somehow none of this affects the viewer in any way. It could easily have been longer and fleshed out more characters, this is pretty shallow stuff.

As said above, Berenger does a good job at displaying the character's motivations for his cruel and unusual training method. Like in Rough Riders where Berenger basically became Teddy Roosevelt, here he seems to quite simply BE Paul "Bear" Bryant. Really good actor.

I'm not really a football fan but even *I've* heard of the great Bear Bryant. I didn't know how interesting I'd find this film, but found myself sucked in by it. I cared about the Junction boys, worried about them, and was shocked at what they had to endure. I stuck it to the end of the film, because I cared about their fate. I also was intrigued by the character of Bear Bryant. What was the deal with him? Why was he so tough and mean? What portion of this meanness was justified, and what wasn't?

I thought all the acting was pretty good. I confess I admired Tom Berenger's willingness to be seen looking rather "seedy". He still has the looks to play a leading man, (a middle-aged leading man, sure, but leading man nonetheless). So to be seen looking pot bellied, sweaty and a little dissipated was a bold and daring move, in my opinion. And he does a good job in his role; his accent is authentic, his tough meanness (and then humble contrition) is effective.

Nick Tate was excellent as Bryant's hard-drinking, grizzled assistant and I really got a kick out of him. The character of Johnny (Bernard Curry) especially made an impression. His sincere devotion to the game and his self-sacrificing willingness to put up with almost *any* abuse amazed me, and I especially found myself touched by his story.

I don't know much about football, and I certainly won't present myself as an expert on the story of Bear Bryant or Texas A & M. But I found this tale to be interesting enough.

Liked movie very much. Berenger did outstanding job as Bryant, showing him as a hard, demanding taskmaster, though in real life, they say he was never this mean and ornery.

Don't know if this was done intentionally or not, but I don't think a single player was over 6 foot tall, nor weighed one-hundred seventy pounds! Nowadays, "players" this size would be lucky to kick field goals, but back in the fifties I'll bet it wasn't unusual.

Conditions for the players on the Texas practice field were inhuman. Actual players from that team who are still alive swear that this was NOT done on purpose to "toughen them up," but something the coach knew nothing about, and was shocked when he got there, but it was too late to turn back, and had to make the best of it.

Had a rather uplifting, yet sad ending, where the Bear tries to make amends. Though names of the players were changed, surviving members say all the players with speaking roles were based on ACTUAL players from Texas A & M.

Berenger/Bryant refers to himself as a "quitter" for leaving University of Kentucky the season before in a "hissy fit." Do you know why? Cause U of Kentucky's football AND basketball teams won the SEC Championship that year. And the Alumni gave hoops coach Adolph Rupp a Cadillac, and coach Bryant got a CIGARETTE LIGHTER!

Here's something ELSE you didn't know; movie was filmed ON LOCATION, start to finish in....................AUSTRAILA!!!!!!!!

Just saw The Junction Boys, a must see movie if you ever get the chance. Tom Beringer portrays Bear Bryant perfectly, and everyone of the supporting actors were wonderfully cast. ESPN entertainment is getting better with every project they produce.

I saw this film last night and was really impressed. The story line was good and Tom Berringer I thought was a great Bear Bryant.I learned about the man through his portrayal of him. I am not going to get into what it is about because we already know but I will say at the end I got a little emotional and that is a hard thing for a film to make me do. Out of a 10 I give it a 7.