The Natural
release year: 1984
genre: baseball drama
viewing setting: home DVD, 3/23/03
synopsis: A rising baseball star is sidetracked in his prime...and returns 15 years later to take another shot.
impressions: Pretty good baseball movie. The point here is not to give up on something that you want more than anything else. I was a little taken aback by the mechanism used to stop the young Roy Hobbs' career, but so it goes. If you like baseball and triumph-type stories, you'll enjoy this one.
acting: Robert Redford goes a great job as a man who puts his baseball dream first, and is willing to keep trying no matter what the odds. Robert Duvall and Kim Basinger are irritating as not-so-helpful supporting characters. Wilford Brimley does a good job as the manager, and Ben Gazzara is slimy-evil as the owner. Glenn Close is okay as the "good" love interest.
final word: Good heartwarming baseball movie.
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