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A Shot at Glory (2000)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
11/20
11/20:
Um, Robert...come back to the United States when you're done with faking a Scottish accent.
Anyway, A Shot at Glory is a nice but odd soccer picture. If it was intended for the UK audience, they should
be familiar with the content but would probably laugh at several actors. On the other hand, the American audience
should be puzzled as I am as to why they're watching soccer that takes place in Scotland. Either way, the non-sport drama is
flat and not compelling.
The reason for my rating of '6' is the soccer part; the scenes are about as good as
Victory with Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, and Pelé. However, the latter has
a simple story while I'm absolutely lost when it comes to how the Scottish Cup format works for the former. Maybe the
goalie should stop punching the ball and start catching it to avoid the silly mistakes.
Playing Jackie McQuillan, Ally McCoist, a real-life Scottish footballer, has a natural acting ability, and I keep
mistaking him for Russell Crowe. Robert Duvall is typical most of the time. Michael Keaton is miscast, but he's actually
of Scottish heritage. Pretty eyes but showing too much makeup, Kirsty Mitchell doesn't either belong in the picture or
have a lot to add to the story; her character might as well be a "one-time fling" which resulted in a son for Jackie.
The ending is a disappointment, wasting two hours of my time, but it's not as bad as compared to the idiot fans who spent
countless hours and money following the season and the postseason only to be crushed by the outcome of the championship
game. What did they get out of it, honestly? Now, I can imagine the sheer amount of time wasted on a 162-game baseball
season given the failed outcome of the World Series.
All in all, A Shot at Glory will do if you like soccer.