The inspiring true story of the underdog Texas Western basketball team, with history's first all African American starting lineup of players, who took the country by storm, surprisingly winning the 1966 NCAA tournament title. Josh Lucas stars as Hall of Famer Don Haskins, the passionately dedicated college basketball coach that changed the history of basketball with his team's victory in this time of innocence.

The problem with sports movies and its something that they can never get away from is that you know the outcome and it can be only one of two things, the team either wins or they lose. Both have been done so many times that no matter which direction you go there is nothing new that you can do and when the story happens to be based on a true story you know going in what the outcome is going to be. That doesn’t mean that Glory Road wasn’t any good because it is, it means that the movie has no chance of being great no matter what it does because its already been done before and done well. If you saw Remember the Titans, you’ve seen Glory Road except for all the little details that make up the stories because they are the same story. A group of black athletes persecuted against and against all odd face that adversity and overcome it in triumph forever changing the face of sports and the way we view life and tolerance. The movie has good ideals and is fun to watch and it does retell one of the most improbable underdog victories ever but that is all there is to it. You know what’s going to happen and despite that it’s still fun to watch the events unravel and cheer for the underdog as you come to know and feel for the athletes who accomplished so much.

I’m not a fan of Josh Lucas he hasn’t really done that much and everything he has done is very formulaic and free of any risks. The same goes for Glory Road Lucas takes no chances, his character is the same character you have seen in dozens of sports movies for decades. He is the hardnosed almost drill instructor that takes no prisoners and teaches the boys through sweat and tears how to win and ultimately how to be champions. It’s the young black actors that make the movie enjoyable; it’s their performances that make the movie. They each have their own story to tell and character to live up to. I don’t know how much the actors captured the essence of their real life counterparts and how much was movie magic to make you like them and cheer for them but I am pretty sure it falls somewhere in between fact and fiction. I doubt they were all the hip, jiving black cats of the sixties who sang and played in an almost stereotypical manner but they were fun to watch and probably weren’t that far from the truth as that was the times and styles of the 1960’s. Disney likes the happy feel good movies that take no chances are a lot of times quickly forgotten and Glory Road while fun and entertaining is just another movie on that long list of clichéd sports underdog movies that pop up every few years or so Good for a matinee and not much more.
3.5 stars out of 5