For those not familiar, it is based on a true story of a former caddy, Francis Ouimet, who in 1913 at the age of 20 made it into and won the US Open while playing against some of the greatest golfers in the history of the game. The two main players are Ouimet (Shia LaBeouf) and Harry Vardon (Stephan Dillane), who invented many techniques commonly practised by most all golfers these days. Vardon was the British champion (6x, IIRC) who the uppercrust wanted to win the title, again, for British pride. Both have a common theme of growing up poor and loving a game that at the time was considered a "gentleman's game" and not for the likes of them.
It's a Disney movie so I was expecting it to be a little more cheesy, not the case, it's a great drama with excellent camera use and editing that keeps the pace moving when it needs to with a touch of cgi to put you into the balls point of view or the players minds on occassion. There is a mild sidestory with a love interest developing between Oiumet and a girl from a wealthy family, but we don't see much other than mutual attraction and we never find out if they got together. The main parts of the story focus on Ouimet's drive to be able to play at all, and the developing drama of the Open itself. There's excellent comic relief from his 10 year old caddy who helps keep him focused and as a team they win the title. This movie ends the final day of the game.
Picture and sound quality are top notch. Detail was excellent, I could see blades of grass and leaves on trees. Colors seemed natural too. Surround use was light but well placed to keep me in the movie and scene. Though limited in use I was surprised a few times when the subs sprang to life as the ball was hit, I didn't really expect much here. In a few scenes I felt my couch move but didn't hear much. Special features are basic, there is a typical making of promo feature, a brief piece about the real Vardon and Ouimet, a nice b/w interview with Ouimet about the game on it's 50 year anniversary, and an audio commentary (I didn't listen to).
Overall I really like this movie and I've seen it many times. I had it on dvd and picked it up used cheap on BD. I'm glad I did, because this is one BD that was done right and is a family friendly movie that really looks and sounds great.
Jack
