User reviews

Gus Cantrell is a major league pitcher in the twilight of his career. He contacted by Roger Dorn, General Manager of the Minnesota Twins, and offered the role of managing the Buzz, the Twins' AAA team. Cantrell accepts but regrets it almost immediately. The Buzz is a dysfunctional no-hoper team, with an odd assortment of characters. However, Cantrell quickly sets about forging them into a winning team.

My expectations for this, the third installment of Major League, were quite low. The first Major League was great but Major League II was very disappointing, filled with clichés, cheap humour and unrealistic baseball. Back to the Minors initially promised to be more of the same, looking quite unoriginal and predictable.

However, it grows on you and its charms become more apparent with time. The key is that it is set in the Minor Leagues, so instead of the glamour of major league baseball, we have no-frills, small town, salt-of-the-earth baseball. It makes a refreshing change and does help the engagement factor.

This all said, it is still fairly predictable and the humour hit- and-miss, but the baseball is fairly realistic, certainly more realistic than Major League II.

Overall, okay, not brilliant, but better than Major League II, at least.

Perhaps not the big names as the first two installments of the series, but an enjoyable movie that teaches that you don't have to be biggest or the best, as long as you give it all you've got and have fun. Scott Backula gives a great and convincing performance as a minor league coach, Ted McGinley does what he does best, play a self centered egotistical, overbearing idiot. He has been brilliant with the same type character in vehicles like "Married With Children." Who else could have pulled this character off. This movie delves into some of the situations faced by both major and minor league players. There are good players who spend their entire baseball careers in minor league. In the days we live in of multimillion contracts, and players who think they are gods, it might be better to see men who play the sport more for fun than money. Perhaps if some of the Major League stars in real life would learn to have fun playing, then we as fans would get a better game.

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit and find myself watching it when it comes on TV. I'm not sure why several other 'reviewers' are getting so fired up about why Charlie Sheen or Wesley Snipes are not in the movie, or why the Indians have been replaced by the Twins: this is the Major League franchise, friends, not the Godfather trilogy. Just accept this as a nice little movie focused on minor league ball, jokes, and Ted McGinley's overacting. It's not going to save the world, or win an Oscar, but it's certainly enjoyable. If you have to compare the 3 movies, the first one is the best, then I'd put this one because it's not trying so hard to repeat the original, then the 2nd one, because, well, that one's just very bad: worse than drinking Jobu's rum. (Although the look on Berenger's face in the second one when he has to say "okay, Rick, let's get nasty" is priceless, I have to admit). Major League 3 doesn't try to do too much, so don't expect much out of it, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Sure, the original is the best and the second had it's fair share of moments. But I found this one to pretty entertaining and my favorite of the three. It has a lot of humor and (unlike most comedies of the 90s) doesn't result to insulting the audience's intelligence. It's a movie that wants nothing more than to make you laugh, and it does a great job at that. Scott Bakula (as always) is good, and Ted McGinley is appropriately weasley as the coach of the opposing team. I won't give it away, but the scene involving McGinely, a baseball, and the wall of the dugout is one of the funniest gags in the entire movie that had me laughing long after the scene had ended. Bob Ueker (who was hysterical in MAJOR LEAGUE and MAJOR LEAGUE II) gets a little stale this time around, but still gets in some funny moments. If only the lovely Jensen Daggett had been given a bit more to do. But the film is funny and worth a look if you're in the mood for a fun movie the whole family can enjoy.

With a new Major League francise as its location, but some former stars of the Cleveland indians and the first two films in the cast, the final film of the series takes us Back To The Minors. The crux of tis plot has a rivalry between Minnesota Twins manager Ted McGinley and Scott Bakula the manager of their Triple A franchise the Charleston Buzz.

Corbin Bernson from the frst two films of the series is now the General Manager of the Twins and he hires both men, rivals since their playing days. Bakula is OK, but McGinley is pretty insufferable. The climax is a pair of exhibition games netween the teams.

A few of Bernson's teammates from his playing days with the Indians are back including Denns Haysbert the Santeria worshiping slugger.

A good sprts comedy, not quite as good as the first two of the series.

This is by far one of the worst movies i have ever seen, the poor special effects along with the poor acting are just a few of the things wrong with this film. I am fan of the first two major leagues but this one is lame!

"Hey Mr. Berenger! Would you like to play your character Jake Taylor in Major League 3?" "No thanks." "Please!" "Nope." "Mr. Sheen, would you consider reprising your role as Wild Thing in Major League 3?" "Nope." "Please!" "Nope." "Mr. Bernsen, would you like to reprise your role as Roger Dorn for Major League 3?" "Why not?" "Yeah, we can make an unnecessary sequel!" That my friends is quite possibly how Major League: Back to the Minors got made. Or was it the fact that around the time this film was made the Cleveland Indians were winning and making a film about a group of misfit underdogs on the same team that is really doing well in real life would be a curse? Regardless, it should've been left alone. Now we got a nice, nearly unrelated sequel leaching off of the Major League.

David S. Ward, director of both previous films, as been docked down to co writer of this mess. Something told me that even he wasn't fully on board with this film. Back to the Minors turns the tables from the Indians to the Minnesota Twins, the team Roger Dorn (Bernsen) now owns. The film focuses on Gus Cantrell (Bakula), a minor league pitcher for a team called the Fort Myers Miracle.

Roger offers Gus a job coaching the Twins' minor league affiliate the South Carolina Buzz. Two of the members from the Cleveland Indians team return. Those are Pedro Cerrano (Haysbert) and Taka Tanaka (Takaaki Ishibashi). Wonderful because I wasn't too big of a fan of Cerrano and couldn't stand Tanaka.

When you can't get the two leads who made a film what it was, don't make a sequel to a film without them. Don't think a crappy spin off is treating the fans to something special. It isn't.

Thank the lord Bob Uecker reprises his role as the alcoholic Indians announcer. But this time he is announcing the Buzz? The film doesn't even provide an answer to why Cerrano, Tanaka, and the announcer are now with the Buzz. They all looked great last season, why did the Indians trade them? Is Jake Taylor still the manager of the Indians? Did the team trade Wild Thing? Did they win the World Series? The film doesn't provide the answer to questions fans are asking.

Major League: Back to the Minors is now the big wart on the entire franchise. There never needed to be a third film. The idea should've been scrapped when Berenger and Sheen said they wouldn't return. But of course, the money is what matters. Not even James Gammon comes back as a cameo. This film is one of the most tasteless and lackadaisical sequels I've ever seen.

Though it was this film that made me realize Corbin Bernsen, Roger Dorn in the film, would later go on to play the father in I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, my favorite holiday film. It was good for that.

Starring: Scott Bakula, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert, Ted McGinley, Takaaki Ishibashi, and Bob Uecker. Directed by: John Warren.

Just a fun little movie that you can watch when you feel like just spacing out in front of the tv.

While the previous Major League movies dealt with a team of incompetent players, Back to the Minors deals with a group of hard-headed players re-learning the fundamentals, and in some cases using their shortcomings to the teams advantage(i.e. Doc's 35 MPH fastball). While some baseball movies focus on Home Run hitting, this is the first baseball movie where I can remember a "pull hitter" being mentioned.

A very average movie with a story arc that's used in 98% of sports movies. Scot Bakula is not bad as the ageing Baseball player turned coach, supporting cast are okay. Lovers of Sport and Horror films will put up with far worse movies and enjoy them. Made me smile, and I've seen a lot worse.

I got the feeling when I watched this that someone had written a nice script about minor league baseball, and somebody got a hold of it and said, "Hey, let's just make this a 'Major League' movie!" I got the feeling the characters from the previous two movies were just tacked onto the existing story line. Which is bad, because there were some good things in this, like the old (actually, ancient) minor league outfielder who was converted to first. And the young phenom hitter.

Not Bull Durham, but could have been good.

MAJOR LEAGUE: BACK TO THE MINORS (1998) ½*

Starring: Scott Bakula, Eric Bruskotter, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert, Jensen Daggett, Written and directed by John Warren 100 minutes Rated PG-13 (for language and some violence)

By Blake French:

Believe it or not, in the new John Warren comedy "MAJOR LEAGUE: BACK TO THE MINORS" there is one funny scene. It consists of a sequence where an infuriated coach throws a baseball hard into the wall behind him only to have it hit the cement and bounce back and smash him in the face. It's not much, but with the exception of a few one-liners, it's all this film has to offer...enough said.

This movie is not only structurally impaired, characteristically undeveloped, predictable and badly written, but also just plain bad. Even non-critical audience members will hate this movie with all that they got. It is so familiar it just isn't funny.

How many times does the same movie about sports have to be made? Last years we saw this same material in "Air Bud: Golden Receiver," and as bad as that film was, this is even worse. At least "Air Bud" was family oriented. "Major League Back to the Minors" is too vulgar for a wholesome family to view together on a Sunday afternoon. It is too childish for adults. So who is this film for? Teenagers? Elderly? People who are so desperate for entertainment they would rent something like this?

The film, like many others like this, has one basic point it tries to make: teamwork conquers all. Yes it does, and what a great moral to try to prove. Too bad we have already seen and excepted it so many times over and over have such little talent and intelligence that their cheerleaders are men in a ballerina costumes. Where the silly announcers form their own "buddy comedy routine" muttering one liners to themselves like "They suck," "This kids fast ball is timed with an hour glass," "This guy dropped out of ball for a while to find something he lost--maybe it was his mind," "Somebody needs a nap," and "ever see a sunset as beautiful as that play." Where the characters have such little significance to each other that we never know them by name. And where the only heartfelt lecture scene about teamwork is so unknowledgeable that it is almost funny.

"Major League Back to the minors" is so bad; it stalls its trite ending right in the middle of a good closing sequence. The good baseball team is on a comeback, they are about to win and--the power goes out. I was thinking for a minute that this piece of trash had come to a conclusion, but in reality, its false final scene exists only to add minutes to the running time. The movie basically consists of a series of unrelated sketches that throw in so many putrid jokes it is are not funny. There is another kind-of-funny line of dialogue that has a coach and a player talking to each other about why a long time outfielder is not wanted in that position any longer. The coach's answer: "You're too old, too slow, and too fat." The player's reaction is to die for. But that scene certainly does not make this movie noteworthy of you time, and certainly is not worth a cent of your money.

So here is another dreadful entrée into this genre of film, another that is doomed with its own script, which is failed before seen, and another which is so familiar it seems like deja vu all over again.

How did I ever appreciate this dud of a sequel? All it does is throw balls! Worst of all, it doesn't compare to even the first installment of the series! The comedy suffers from not being funny. Where did all the unintentional laughter go? Enough slapstick on-the-field action goes on too long. Bob Uecker literally saved this one from a complete nine-inning shutout. What's next, MAJOR LEAGUE 4: RETURN TO THE LITTLE LEAGUE? Ehh, could be! Leave this one on the shelf and plan a trip to the All-Star Game. This one's had three strikes too many.

I think that the first „Major league" movie is seriously overrated . It's a nothing special comedy with cliché story and flat slapstick humor. It's watchable and somewhat funny if you're in the right mood comedy. I'm surprised that it became a hit and classic for some people. So Hollywood made a sequel that was pretty much just as uninspired as the first movie , but this time nobody liked the movie . I guess however that it made some good money. So , here it is – "Major league 3".It doesn't matter you didn't wanted it at all. Let's milk some money from that cow , even if it's long dead.

No star from the first two movies return here – No Charlie Sheen , Tom Berenger , Rene Russo , Omar Epps or Wesley Snipes. Sure we have Cerrano , Tanaka, Roger Dorn and Harry Doyle ,but that's it. The only known person from the cast is Ted McGinley ("Married with children"). The hero here is… I don't remember. He is played by… I don't remember. The story is about… I don't remember. The movie is completely lame and forgettable. Oh yes , that I remember.

Avoid it , even if you liked the first two movies. Avoid it especially if you didn't liked any of the first two movies. I give it 1/10.

I don't remember if this was released in the theaters or just made straight to DVD, but it's the 2nd level of production. Watchable but forgettable, and I don't mean that as an insult to the film, cause it's not as bad as everyone says.

Scott Bakula with his easy going, genuine style carries the movie. Most of the team is forgettable but not annoying and there are some moments of humor in there. Corbin Bernsen has a very small role as the GM, where he's not comic relief this time, as he was in the first 2 movies, but he's a nice guy running a bad ball-club. Ted McGinley is at his best as the arrogant teams manager and he's a perfect Yin to Bakula's Yang.

I wasn't a fan of Major League 2, which lacked the freshness and charm of Major League 1 (though I loved the White Lightning/Black Thunder scene). This one went down a different path leaving the major league team behind and looking at it from the minors and for me it worked, but, it's not a film to go into with high expectations. Another poster he called it "a solid single" and while Major League 1 was a home-run and Major League 2 was disappointing by comparison, this one, we don't expect much so it's OK. 6 stars. 7 if you're dying for a baseball movie and there's one you haven't seen. It's not awful and don't believe the 4.5 ranking. It's better than that, just, not much better.

There is a good idea for a plot here and if IMDB data is accurat they had almost twice the budget than the first Major League. So was this so awful because of the director? It appears that way because he's only directed two duds in his career. They had enough good actors and members from the original to make this a funny movie. Bob Ueker is always great and Scott Bakula is a solid actor too but in the end the writing and the direction just wasn't there. They mailed it in n the last movie making it an embarrassment. Too bad, they had more than enough to work with here.

Man, this is Scott back to his best. Even more polished than the famed and acclaimed Quantum Leap. Pure class!! This film had me in stitches. Both times I watched it!!! Wow, and he is more than abley backed up by his arch enemy Leonard Huff. Pure genius.

in my opinion this is the best of the trilogy.i laughed out loud a few times in this one.but more than that,i just thought the story was better.there were some great lines delivered in this one,many courtesy of Bob Uecker,who played Harry Doyle,the goof ball play by play man.again there are some oddball characters with some strange rituals.i also thought the movie flowed more smoothly and it was better paced.there was also a love interest for one of the characters in this one,although admit it wasn't a substantial part of the movie.but at least there was one.as far as i can recall,there was no love interest of any consequence in the previous two.if i'm wrong,please tell me so.anyway,overall a pretty good movie.for me,"Major League 3:Back to the Minors" is a 7/10

I am a HUGE fan of the first MAJOR LEAGUE. It is a fantastic movie! The first film in this trilogy has a very witty script, great performances from a stellar cast, and is just a well made, funny, exciting and entertaining film.

A big reason the first film succeeded was because it was rated R. It had (oh my gosh) swear words. It was believable.

The sequel, which I've seen twice and both times fucckking hated (censor that IMDb people) failed for the same reason the first film was a hit.

The third film, which I'm sure was Direct-to-video, had a chance to be something special. No pressure from the studio to produce millions of dollars, it could have been a mini-Bull Durham, but just a tad more silly. It started off well, but then they started with the recurring characters. If it's not Snipes, Sheen or Berenger, to be honest, no one gives a shhitt (Censor that too)

Again, everything must come back to the budget. It's hard enough to make a quality film, and even harder with no money and a shittttty script, but someone on the set must have just given up halfway through. All the checks were cashed and they said, "Well, the first film was great so let's just think about the next project."

The main roles were well acted, and the direction was fine - but they just had NO F-ING STORY.