This was on my watch later for almost a year, before I was looking for a sports movie after finishing a sports reality series, I figured why not.Samuel L. Jackson is Ken Carter, the owner of a successful sporting goods store and a former college basketball player. He is approached by his former high school coach to take the coaching job at inner-city Richmond H.S., where Carter was a 2 time All-American nearly 20 years prior. The team won just 4 games the previous season, but he decides to take on the job regardless, mostly as a favour. A mostly predictable sports underdog story ensues. The team is run ragged in practice, sign contracts relating to academics and soon enough, the team is on a lengthy undefeated streak. Numerous side plots include Carter's son transferring to Richmond to play for him, a player and girlfriend deciding what to do about a potential baby and a player leaving the team multiple times to sell drugs.Unexpectedly, Samuel L. Jackson is fantastic and in the end, the only thing keeping this from being rated a fair bit lower. A young Channing Tatum is literally just another player and not particularly memorable and besides Ashanti as a player's girlfriend, I couldn't tell you one other person casted in this movie. The inevitable middle of the movie conflict erupts, the baby angle is abruptly and clumsily ended and the drug dealing player's supplier is the only person shot to death in two hours. On the whole, Samuel L. Jackson is fantastic in this movie, more or less playing himself as a basketball coach. But, the whole script is not great, there's no real supporting performances that lead to a good scene and I thought the film ran way too long. You may shout at the TV when Carter is about to admonish his team "I need winners off the court!", but it's not a total waste of your life either. 6/10.

I'm not saying that this is the best film Samuel L. Jackson ever made, or that it's his finest performance. He's been a busy actor with a huge body of work, after all. But I will say that "Coach Carter" is probably my favourite Samuel L. Jackson movie. And his performance as Coach Ken Carter is very good, and the overall story is quite inspiring. It's a hopeful movie to watch; one that promises that things and people can turn around, and that those who could be expected to fall by the wayside can rise to the top - not just in basketball (which is the setting of this movie) but also in life. As Carter, Jackson is playing the coach of the Richmond High School basketball team. It's an inner city school that graduates only 50% of its students, few of whom actually go on to college. The basketball team is made up of a bunch of boys who couldn't care less about school, who get into trouble outside school and who lose over and over on the court. Carter comes in and lays down the law, expecting student athletes to be students first and athletes second - trying to teach them how to be winners, not only on the court but off. Along the way he faces opposition from the players themselves, their parents, their teachers, the principal and the school board - but he stands up straight, stares his detractors down and shuts down the basketball program (after having led the team to 16 straight wins) because not enough of the players are keeping up their academic end of the bargain. Ultimately he takes this group of boys - who could have just been written off as losers - to the state championship tournament, and sees many of them go to college and progress into successful lives.That's the story. It's inspiring. It's also (to be honest) entirely formulaic. It's a formula that works - which is why it's been used repeatedly for decades - but it's still a formula: Principal/Teacher/Coach takes over troubled School/Classroom/Team, gets tough and turns everything around. Usually (as here) the story is based on true events - making it even more inspiring. But it is still a formula - there's a predictability to this. You've seen it before, even if you haven't seen the movie before. But the performances from Jackson and the young actors who played the members of the team (and from Ashanti, who played Kyra, the girlfriend of one of the players) does manage to keep it seeming fresh and alive at the same time.Sure you can quibble about the timeline being off (for example, Carter took over the team in 1997 and the year of the lockout was 1999, not just a few weeks after he became coach) but chalk those things up to dramatic license. The basics are accurate enough, and the movie's an inspiring, feel-good story about a man who made a difference in a lot of young lives. Who can really argue with that? (7/10)

The film is based on the true story of Coach Ken Carter who benched his undefeated high school basketball team in 1999, because of their poor academic standings. While the film may not be an exact replica of what took place, it definitely is an inspiring story. It is good to know that some teachers care about where their students are headed in life, and want to put them in a position where they can better succeed.The basketball action is quite exciting - especially the alley oops. The practice sessions, and teamwork are all well played out as well. There were quite a few plays that made me go 'wow, that was good'. Apparently, Channing Tatum had not played basketball before the movie, so I guess it's a good thing we don't see him with the ball much. On the other hand, the players on the court the most: Brown, Gbewonyo, Ri'chard, and Tanner are all great handlers and shooters. Jackson as the coach acts his part well. He brings the intensity and sincereness of the character across the screen. The other actors also do well at playing teenagers wanting to appear cool. However, the narrative about the more grown up character Kenyon, and his girlfriend Kyra was a nice side story. Their struggles exemplified why Coach Carter fights so hard to keep them from failing their classes.Overall, a nicely made film that was both engaging and motivating. Having said that, I'm sure some parents or teachers would have supported Carter more vocally. The film basically showed Coach Carter against the world.

This is the story of a coach who bucks the system to ensure that the players on his basketball team not only become a stellar team, but attain a good education to boot. It's another one of those paint-by-number sports movies with a tough-as-nails coach and a rebellious team that he has to whip into shape. The film puts the spotlight on an education system that places more emphasis on producing winning players than producing winning students with lots of opportunities in life.It's not a bad movie, but it's not a great movie. It's predictable. You know the ending from the start of the movie. That's not a terrible thing, considering that in movies like this, often it's the journey that counts more than the end product. It's a movie full of life lessons and messages about teamwork, fulfilling your personal destiny and ambitiously pursuing goals without being complacent. The film has a good moral backbone.There are more than enough syrupy, cringe-inducing moments to choke a horse. The movie relies heavily on sentiment and cliché to drive its point home. Every movie has the potential of really being a piece of art, but when a film relies on overused tropes, it satisfies the audience without challenging them. Therefore, the movie never feels like it's doing something new. The movie is filmed well. It looks great. It's crisp and full lof fluid camera movements.. From the lighting to the sets, the movie is made well. The training Carter puts his team through is rough. You feel the pain of the team when they constantly have to endure suicide runs and pushups, but you also see the benefits of really striving to be your best. You see the benefits of practice, repetition and training. The sports scenes are well-choreographed and filmed. The characters are mostly likable. The contrast between Coach Carter and the principal is a strong element of the movie (she cares less about the kids' educations and more about having a winning team). At one point, the principal says something to the effect of "Playing on this team could be the best time of their lives". At this point, it hits you that these kids really don't have a chance to become anything with a school system that sees them as simply members of a winning team as opposed to young people full of potential.This is what sets Coach Carter apart from other sports movies. The Coach has a goal that is bigger and nobler than simply having a winning team. He cares about the kids and their futures. The scenes with Samuel Jackson are strong, for the most part. He's a good actor; convincing, solid and a force to be reckoned with. However, a number of the other younger actors aren't good enough to carry a scene, which leaves the movie feeling patchy. A lot of the dialogue feels recycled and trite. For example, there is a scene with a needy basketball player trying to convince his "pregnant" girlfriend to work things out with him. The dialogue feels like it's lifted straight from a soap opera. It doesn't ring true. It's an okay movie. It's not amazing. It's not a great piece of art. It's capable filmmaking, decent acting and a worthwhile, if predictable story. It offers food for thought about the state of education in America today and Jackson's performance makes it worth watching. I'd give it a 6/10.