****************** ATTENTION SPOILERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ***********************The movie is supposedly a baseball movie and simultaneously a romance. The lone protagonists are Costner and Preaston, but the movie is actually exclusively centered around Costner. Which could be criticized for poor character development, but at the same time, besides Costner, the rest of the cast delivers meaningless contributions. Well first because the story is cheesy, much too clichè, to the point where you can actually fill in the lines because you know anticipate the dialogue. Then, the movie is really bailing water: it's not a sports movie, it's a bad romance because the relationship is not believable, it's only centered around Costner's flashbacks in the middle of a game. Wow, seriously ? And he manages fine until his hand and his shoulder give up, which for x & y reasons, is weird. In reality he would take a PCR shot but it would not enable him to throw so consistently well at his age. Costner is a chameleon, and I get that he did this movie to cover up for his divorce lawsuit. But this script is too uninspired and incoherent for him to lift it up to a decent level. The whole green eyed blond mom at 16 with a job that seems to pay well yet her job is not clear, since she is part time but doesn't have her own car, the sudden interaction between her daughter and Costner out of nowhere, the goofy Sunuski who keeps calling Costner 'chappy' (so overdone), the manager who steps down to a player's orders, the owner who sells the team because he doesn't believe in baseball which actually would be because the team stinks fails to reach the playoffs and it leads to bankruptcy, there are so many elements that make it unwatchable. It takes a lot of poise not get irritated by them.

I've gotta give this 5 stars because I liked it just as much as I did when I saw it (way) back in 99. It's stood up well. Kevin Costner is excellent as ageing Detroit Tigers pitcher 'Billy Chapel' and looks just like one of the pro's out on the field.Told for the most part through flashbacks, this starts at the end and then goes back, as Billy "clear's the mechanism" and begins pitching in what could potentially be his last game, as his team has just been sold and the new owners have plans to trade him. Throughout this game he reflects on his life, 18yr career and on-again-off-again relationship with 'Jane' (Kelly Preston) which has also reached a impasse. For the most part this is baseball movie and it gets super exciting as Billy unknowingly nears a perfect game, debates retirement and Jane winds her way through the airport on her way to England.I'm not sure what the critics ever thought of this but I thought it was fantastic; great story, told in a clever way, sweet well portrayed romance and just a classic sports movie. I also enjoyed John C Reilly as Billy's catcher and his relationship with former owner (Brian Cox.) The game has changed. 6/21/14

The producers were obviously trying to cash in on the popularity of Bull Durham, but this was a bad misfire. 5 percent baseball. 95 percent psychobabble, with Costner and Preston endlessly discussing their relationship, the rules of the game, etc, etc. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan without the humor. And what the Tiger's ace pitcher could see in this messed- up gal is a mystery. At 40 years old, he should have known better. Susan Sarandon was a much more convincing match for him.If you like juvenile dialog about love affairs, you may find this interesting. But if you're looking for a baseball movie like Bull Durham or Field of Dreams, forget this one. It's a love story, and not a very good one.

First of, let me say that I don't understand how most people rate a movie. Not that they are doing it wrong or anything like that - it's just that I seem to think different than most people on such things and this movie brings it out so perfectly. 6.2 avg rating? I rate it 8 to 8.5 at least. To my mind, it's in the same league as Casablanca. No, it doesn't have the same noirish feel, it isn't set in the background of a war (atleast not in the conventional sense) and it certainly isn't a life or death situation. And yet...It's also not a movie with your typical cliché headline - no one will write phrases like "their life changes for ever" or "a coming of age story" etc. about this one.What it is, to my mind, is story of one man, Billy Chapel, living in the limelight as it's fading and his war with time and with his own emotions. We all fight this war sometime (I'm on the wrong side of 40 myself); most times it's mainly in our heads with occasional interludes by people near & dear, but there's generally no audience (which is a good thing). If you happen to live in the limelight at such a time, you unfortunately have to fight on two fronts, a public one and a private one. This movie walks us through one such war and it's poignant and heart-warming mainly 'cause Kevin Costner plays it with such understated vulnerability that you root for the character even when he appears a bit clueless.Not the world's greatest movie, no special effects, no nothing other than simple human emotions. But that holds up well thru the 2.5hrs making it a wonderful watch. What could be better than that? Of course the end of the game was a bit too theatrical, but hey! even the movie guys are human, right?