Believe - Il sogno si avvera

Believe is a British football movie that finds the legendary Sir Matt Busby (Brian Cox) coaching a kids 7 a side football team. Matt Busby was the manager of Manchester United Football Club, who lost their team of starlets (known as The Busby Babes) to the Munich air crash of 1958. Busby would then go on to rebuild the team and make them into a world force, one that still exists today. Here he is in long retirement exile, but still moulding young football minds. It's based on true events.

We have a heavy dose of sentimentality on offer here, not just with the flashbacks to the tragic loss of The Busby Babes, but also to the working class kids of terrace housed Manchester. Of single parents trying to make ends meet, of kids with absent fathers erring on the wrong side of the law, education a dangled carrot just out of reach.

However, the sentimentality is not cloying, it's well handled and performed, but the pic never gets to uplift status. It has some good laughs in the mix, usually when Toby Stephens' pompous school tutor is on screen, while the ultimate conclusion - even though it's what we expect - warms the cockles, but it never branches out to be more than just a family film for kiddies who like football, or for Manchester folk eager for anything involving Sir Matt Busby.

It makes for a decent "B" movie support to There's Only One Jimmy Grimble, though not nearly as good as that film. Cox, Stephens and the tender Busby Babes sequences (very Field of Dreams) make it worth a watch, but it should have been smarter and better. 6/10

Why am I wasting my time writing a review for this very average film? Maybe I'm bored at work?

I should of really known better, and did a bit research, this is after all, is a family film. So I guess if you're an 8 year footballer you'll prob love it.

The problem I had it was way to sentimental for my liking. Apart from a few decent tunes from Manchester the music was terrible. It all felt very low budget, the acting was fine but far to clichéd, but if you're a kid you prob wont notice.

Basically, I would avoid this film if you're expecting a decent football film and you are above the age of 10.

A feel good family film that will be enjoyed by all ages, especially if you're a fan of Matt Busby and/or have knowledge of the Busby Babes. However all the kids in the cinema who knew nothing about the history loved the film. It's raw and unpolished which gives it its charm. The kids in the film are all newcomers, but do a great job. The emotional scene in the car with Matt and Georgie is brilliant! I saw an interview with Brian Cox who said that even established actors find it difficult to "dig deep" to find such emotion. Young Georgie "blew him away". Comical in parts, emotional (you'd have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by the flashbacks to the Busby Babes) and you leave feeling uplifted and happy!

Believe is a family film about a young lad whose team thanks to a chance meeting get to be managed by legendary Manchester United manager Matt Busby.

The plot is predictable and one we have all seen before however it must be watched on the basis it is a family film and meant to appeal to younger viewers as well. On this basis if like me you have children of a younger age who like football, then it is highly likely they will find this story highly engaging. With a strong British cast and references to Matt Busby and his 'Busby Babes' this is also a film that can be enjoyed by adults as well.

Brian Cox is good as Matt Busby and there is also a nice performance from Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead). The young actors all do good jobs as well.

Believe works as an uplifting and at times touching family drama and as far as family films go this is a very good one. A film that all the family really can enjoy.