I'm going to say it straight from the off; this movie will play your emotional heartstrings better than Jimi Hendrix on his best day. Right from the beginning you are introduced to a post-crash scene where a young Bobby Charlton (played by Jack O'Connell) sits, injured, next to a team mate in the exposed harshness of a German winter. Just so you know what's coming ahead.The movie follows the happenings of the events leading up to and after the air crash mainly from the perspective of Bobby Charlton. It begins with training day for a promising Manchester United squad where, as usual, David Tennant dazzles in his role as Jimmy Murphy, the head coach for the team. His portrayal of Murphy gives us a realistic idea of footballing days 40-50 years ago when boots were plain and sturdy, the football was hard and reliable, and first team opportunities were hard to come by. Of course, the main man behind the selection of a team is the manager, Matt Busby, played by Dougray Scott. His portrayal of Busby has its ups and downs. You clearly get the idea that he is a respected man, a disciplinarian but fair, and someone that everyone strives to impress. However, this reviewer has his reservations about a few things; namely the accent. Yes, Sir Matt Busby was Scottish but did the accent have to be so thick? Some parts of his dialogue was hard to understand which hindered the overall effect of the film. Despite that, the camera shots really did let the viewer experience an aura about the man, like you were in the presence of greatness even while watching from a television screen.I mentioned earlier that there was an emotional aspect to this film. And there is. In buckets. Especially if you're a United fan. Charlton fights with his emotions about whether or not he wants to come back to play for the team, arguing that "it's not the team without them" when referring to the deaths of his team mates. And it's true, and the fact that I can say that speaks volumes about the acting making me feel like I experienced the deaths of my team mates. Overall, this film has its ups and downs, and if you're looking for a "Goal!" kind of movie where a player leads a team to glory - look elsewhere. This is a team sport, and this movie reflects it better than a mirror. The bond between each other, the euphoria of being in the Manchester United dressing room, being surrounded by talented players destined for glory, the emotional roller-coaster of triumph and despair, and the eventual victory all make this film not just an excellent insight into what life was like in the 1950s, but also made the viewer feel like they were part of a team, like they lost their friends, like they were united.

Likely if the viewer is a soccer fan and already familiar with the 1958 tragic airplane accident that resulted in the loss of lives of the majority of the Internationally famous soccer team during a blighted takeoff in Munich, this film will be profoundly affecting. Certainly the 'based on true events' aspect of this film makes it affecting, especially the manner in which the citizens of Manchester responded to the deaths of their heroes and came to the fore with support for their beloved winning team. But as written by Chris Chibnall and directed by James Strong, UNITED relies too heavily on established information and fails to develop the characters portrayed by the actors to the point that the non-soccer fan audience has a difficult time identifying with the members of the team and the film plods along in a maudlin, saccharine manner that without some history of the boys on the team becomes a bit trying to watch.But as the PR states, 'United is based on the true story of Manchester United's legendary "Busby Babes", the youngest side ever to win the Football League and the 1958 Munich Air Crash that claimed eight of the their number. The film draws on first-hand interviews with the survivors and their families to tell the inspirational story of a team and community overcoming terrible tragedy.The few team members who are allowed personality are portrayed by Sam Clafin as Duncan, Thomas Howes as the pipe smoking Mark, and Jack O'Connell as the newest member of the team Bobby (good in the first half, maudlin and weak in the second half). The spokesman for the team is owner Matt Busby (Dougray Scott) - the team is known as Busby's Babes - and the redoubtable champion team leader Jimmy Murphy is well portrayed by David Tennant. The hard-nosed athletic commissioner Alan Hardaker is portrayed by Neil Dudgeon. The rest of the cat is fine but their characters are so ill-defined that it is difficult to remember who they are.Undoubtedly a sad but true story and also one of overcoming odds, but as a film for the general public without soccer connections, it is a poorly conceived movie. Grady Harp

this is a typical bbc production, the story of what happened in munich 1958, is such an emotional and tragic one, but what the survivors did after that and the way they came back is beyond astounding. this is the story that should have been told the amazing triumph from devastating tragedy. but what we got was a film badly written and even worse direction, the camera lingering on nothing, slowly panning across empty space, the performers were all good but wasted, what should have been tear wrenching emotion was made flat. they did not tell the full story and also got quite a few very important bits wrong, busby was in a coma for a very long time, yet here we see him talking and listening to matches, this was just sloppy. a total wasted opportunity

I've only just finished watching this film based on the Munich air disaster and how Manchester United cope's with the loss of their players and friends. Now I've never written one of these reviews before and with all honestly it'll probably be my last, but I thought the BBC did such a good job with the entirety of this film that it deserves someone whether they read it or not to give some feedback. I'm not a Manchester United fan but I do love football - not soccer - Football! And I am a fan of well written and directed films and this has an abundance of both. I'm not going to write of the details of the film basically because you should all know your history and I don't want to spoil a perfectly good film. All I can say is David Tennant once again like every performance he gives is outstanding, alongside with Dougray Scott and a young Jack O'Connell whom plays Sir Bobby Charlton (clearly before he receives his knighthood). You don't need to like Football to enjoy this film, you just need to enjoy good films...