Un but pour la gloire

I hired this movie on a recent return to Scotland and sat through all of it in spite of myself. It is utterly lamentable. Bobby Duvall sets the tone by attempting a 'Scottish' accent that had me laughing and grimacing in equal turns. By striking co-incidence my neighbours used to have a gardener from Belarus who sounded very similar to Bob so I understood what he was saying. Michael Keaton was in it too but his appearances were so infrequent and so utterly pointless that he gave the appearance of a confused crew member wandering on to the set. "Super" Ally McCoist is about the best thing in it and he never rises above "Days of Our Lives" levels of pseudo-acting . Apparently Bobby struggled to get studio funding for this (No ! Surely not !) and had to fund much of it personally as it was a labour of love. Maybe for him. For me it was a dreadful waste of time and money.

Watched this on a recommendation from a friend (a rangers fan) and was surprised that i actually enjoyed the movie. Being a Scot a lot of the football footage, the players and stadiums were familiar and even sometimes it was hard to tell that a lot of it was computer generated, in fact it was better done than Sky Ones Dream Team! Tell me was it Cliftonhill that Kilnochie are meant to be based? The fact that many of the players were in fact footballers made it more realistic to watch unlike Dream TEam where its all just actors I found it both funny and good that McCoist was an ex Celtic player and i was pleased how he hated that sectarian hatred in the Old Firm. References to 'its only a game' was just what this country needs and i admire his bravery in taking upon a role that saw him (albeit superimposed) in a Celtic shirt when he is a Rangers legend.

Anyway once i got over some of the dodgy accents (and what would the English guy know about Scots accents Wolfman?) i really enjoyed the movie, any football fan can relate to the fans and i just loved the guy that could just not watch the game, we have all been there! Its all about the underdogs the Scottish Cup and the movies name reflects this. The romance of the cup, the days out, the buzz in the town, its all captured terrifically and being a fan of a 2nd division team i know! All in all a good film and recommended, especially to fans of the bigot brothers where religion has no place in this film. You may just enjoy it!

If I was an American living in America with maybe a passing interest in Football or Soccer as they tend to call it, then this movie might pass as pretty good entertainment, but being Scottish and loving football since I could walk and talk I found this film to be absolute rubbish. Robert Duvall is a fantastic actor but he is hindered here by his awful attempt at a Scottish accent, couldn't he have just played it in his normal voice. Maybe they could have come out with some sort of explanation why an American would end up managing a Scottish team that would have been been easier to swallow than his Hey Jimmy! Och aye the Noo dialect. Also as a Celtic supporter you would expect me to be ready to crucify Ally McCoist's acting since he used to play for Rangers, but actually he is by far and away the best thing in the film! He's actually pretty good! Sadly the footage they used of his days with Celtic ( he's wearing his Rangers strip coloured green! ) is awful. Actually nearly everything in this film is awful, it was a very, very bad idea from the beginning. Also why is a great actor like Michael Keaton doing in this, he is wasted in a small role, was he just doing a favour for Duvall? I must say though the actual football matches were pretty well done, much better than the likes of Escape to Victory or any other football movie. ***3/10***

It's difficult to make a movie about football (soccer) that will satisfy one's appetite for interesting match scenes as well as a desire for a worthwhile plot. 'A Shot at Glory' certainly does not pull this off, but it is an attempt worth watching in any case.

The plot is rather mediocre, but at least it is somewhat linked to the fortunes of the team itself. Nosy American owner (Keaton) buys team, threatens to move it to Ireland if aging coach (Duvall) can't win the Scottish Cup. The second strand of the plot involves the former Golden Boot winner (McCoist) brought in by the owner, who is the somewhat estranged son-in-law of the coach. The third element, of course, is the performance of the team itself. There is certainly some awful dialog in the film, but it quickly passes from memory once the matches begin.

In comparison to 'Bend It Like Beckham' and 'Mean Machine,' the two football-related films 'A Shot at Glory' can easily be weighed against, the film at hand establishes itself as the clear choice in terms of the realism of the matches. The experience of watching each match is rather like watching a cinematic version of Championship Manager -- there is very little continuity between moves, but it somehow seems to make sense.

At the end of the day, 'A Shot at Glory' is well worth watching if you are looking for a well-executed football movie. The plot may be formulaic, but the match scenes put many others to shame.

This might not be a great movie, but it's a long way from being a bad one. The plot is standard sports movie material - plucky underdogs, previous grudges, former star slipping down the sports food chain, last chance at glory - but it's carried off with some style.

Robert Duvall is good, and draws on several well known soccer managers from UK mining towns for his portrayal. British viewers can play 'spot the managerial reference'. Reviewers in Scotland were critical of Duvall's accent, but it's not that bad, although it veers in to an Irish accent once or twice. Writing from Scotland, I would have thought it would sound pretty convincing to non-Scottish viewers.

Ally McCoist does well, and the references to his own career are entertaining. The football scenes are well done, and far better than some other soccer movies. Compared to 'Escape to Victory', for example, it's a soccer masterclass.

Our soccer-mad son would enjoy it, but the language in the movie and a sex scene makes it unsuitable (although the swearing is toned down compared to most football matches I've attended). Overall, a decent film that will probably increase in appeal over the years as the local furore over accents and football loyalties is forgotten.