The 5th Quarter

I love inspirational sport movies - who doesn't? But they have to be inspirational, meaning something that lifts because it moves us genuinely. I found the 5th Qtr to be probably the most paint by numbers film in this genre I've ever seen.

I appreciate the story, I get why it should have moved me, and in places it does - but it is so "now feel this" and "now you should feel sad, now feel glad" that I am no longer a viewer, I become simply a mannequin devoid of my own choices. Fox Faith made this, and it should therefore have excellent production values and some real thinking behind it. But it sorely lacks power, even in those scenes where it should.

It is clichéd, from a dull script, to a musak score that assaults the senses, to frankly, and amazingly, dull football scenes. It has great values, real heart, but slushes it all away, through telling us how to feel all the time.

A sad waste of a good idea -honestly, wanted to love this, but could barely watch it in places. Inspirational? Not for this reviewer, I'm afraid.

Sorry but have to agree with many of the other posters on here. This movie had everything to be a great movie and started out really good, but lost something as it went on. I watched it based on the trailer and the fact that Aidan Quinn was in it (love him!) but I have to say I was a little disappointed in it. It seems like they had a great beginning and a decent ending but the middle lacked something. As far as the acting goes, you have to remember that these actors are trying to portray real life people as closely as they can and that may seem why the acting was a bit off. This is a very good movie for teens to watch so they can see the dangers of reckless driving and the importance of being responsible.

Oh, ye of little faith. This film had flaws as almost any film does but, there have been several criticisms about some less than stellar acting. It is true to some extent. Truth be known, several participants were the real people in the real world of the events that took place from the actual story. I am always amazed by the reviews that seem so opposite from agreement. This film dealt with the tragedy that sometimes befalls only some families and it shows that families can work thru their sorrows. I rate this film 7 stars because I know a similar tragedy and I pray that you never have to walk with this tragedy in your life. Quinn does an outstanding performance that conveyed the pain and suffering of a father as did the rest of the main cast. This is a heart wrenching story to watch but one with a valuable lesson to share.

"For the entire history of mankind everyone is born and everyone dies. You think we'd have learned to handle it, but we don't." After a car accident changes the lives of the Abbate family forever, older brother Jon (Merriman) has a tough time coping and want to give up playing football. After his teammate talks to him Jon decides to give it one more try. This is a true story about the tragedy of the Abbate family and the 2006 Wake Forest football team. More then a sports movie, this is more of a Christian themed film about dealing with loss. This was a good movie overall. While I enjoy a feel good type movie like this one, the big problem I had with this is that (like most Christian movies) everything seems to perfect and when the main character begins his quest there is not much that stops him. This movie is very heart-wrenching in parts, but the poor acting takes away from the emotion. Overall, this is a good movie, but the fact that everything works out a little too well and the bad acting makes this a little worse then I wanted it to be. I did like it though. I give it a B-.

Would I watch again? - I don't think I will *Also try - Facing The Giants & The Perfect Game

I had wanted to see this movie for a while, as I am a really big Aidan Quinn fan, so I was thrilled when I found a copy today! But my hopes were too high for the level of this movie. The story was solid, the acting was decent, but the script was obviously an afterthought to the football footage. The writers never really introduced the viewers to the Abbatte family (what was wrong with the daughter?), gave very little notice to the interactions and reactions of the family as a whole regarding their loss, and basically didn't give the actors much with which to present their characters or to move the story line. With such a good story and a high-caliber cast, this movie could have been a great one, but instead it pretty much just laid down with a whimper. Next time, guys, "FOCUS" on the story, not clips of football plays and cheerleaders. Really a sad treatment of a promising premise.