Rating: 
Summary: preview review
Review: seen this movie 2 days before opening day. it was fantastic. all the actors gave wonderful performances, their hearts were in it. it was truly a great film, and everyone will enjoy it. especially if your a golfer. i will watch it again.
Rating: 
Summary: What's the big deal
Review: A golf movie, a philosophical tale, but I wasn't enthralled by it. It did recieve a lot of press and since it was a Redford movie, became the darling movie to see. Was I impressed? Not really. Will Smith seemed out of character. Morgan Freeman may have been an older, better choice. The wisdom of the youthful Smith seemed out of context. This one even smells like Hollywood. A golf version of Titanic or Pearl Harbor... a believable fake.
Rating: 
Summary: A Hallmark card of a movie....
Review: This is a visually pretty movie, written to be poignant. People seem to forget this when they write reviews of it...."The Legend of Bagger Vance" is a worthwhile view provided the viewer satisfies a number of conditions first. First, viewers who are looking for an artistic masterpiece will find is a sickeningly sweet picture without angst or pretense aside from that which Will Smith delivers his lines; these seem to come straight out of the self-help books written by people like Deepak Chopra. Matt Damon plays a World War I veteran smitten with enough angst to drink himself into a stupor yet not quite enough to seek the greater redemption through literary or means enough to help anyone other than himself. There is no angst or mental torpor; this isn't that kind of movie. So what is it? This is a feel-good movie-- not quite a golfer's 'Field of Dreams' but darned close. She builds a golf course, the all-time greats come, and in the end, the world is saved and we reach the truly great end-of-history (not Hegel's or Fukyama's)-- life happily ever after. The music, clothes, and actors in this movie are what one would expect out of a work without hint of depravity or true tragedy. When the protagonist's father is out of work, it is not because he suffered but instead because he was good; even the 'bad' guys really come off good. It's as heartwarming as anything outside of Disney, and all over the world, golfers shall be drooling over the shots of the course....
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Summary: An excellent movie!
Review: "The Lengend of Bagger Vance" is one of those movies that has a sense of beauty and magic to it. Will Smith does a tremendous job as Bagger. There are a number of one liners he delivers with a smile on his face. Yet, he conveys a deep sense of being more than he appears. What adds to the movie is a tremendous soundtrack. The music has a way of touching the soul and leaving a mark. It is difficult to put into words what draws me to this movie. The acting, scenery, music all combine to give the viewer a wonderful feast not soon forgotten!
Rating:
Summary: Sweet & charming
Review: If you were a fan of Robert Radford's films, then, you would enjoy this movie. In the tradition of the "Horse Whisperer", "The River Runs Thru It", the cinematography is always on-par with the actors & actresses. None of them dominate the screen time but they all play a pivotal role in getting the story told in the most beautiful way possible. It is never intended to be a cheeky movie like "Tin Cup", as audacious as "Happy Gilmore" but a golf movie nonetheless. It is a compelling story about a Savannah talented amateur, Junnuh (played by Matt Damon) whose innocence was lost in World War 1 & as he returned home, he lost his swing. Charlize Theron, who played his former girl friend tried to salvage what's left of her father's dream golf resort which was effected by the Great Depression in the 30's by organising an exhibition golf match. That's how Junnuh & Charlize's character crossed the path once more. Bagger Vance (depicted charmingly by Will Smith), Junnuh's soon-to-be caddie came from thin air & guided Junnuh out from the wilderness & helped him overcome his demons. Once his task was done, he disappeared once more. Not to be overlooked was this young boy who never gave up on his hero, Junnuh & his older self narrated the story to the viewers in the form of Jack Lemmon (who was uncredited in the movie). Yet another "triumph of the human spirit" movie but it was never overdone. Highly recommended & to be shared with family & friends.
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Summary: Awful acting
Review: The accents were terrible. The movie was awful. I couldn't get past the female and the little boy. If someone else had played those two parts, maybe it would have been a little better. My husband and I play golf and that is why I bought the movie. It was a total waste of money.
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Summary: If you think this movie is about golf, you are missing it.
Review: The movie is about golf only in a tangential way. It is an allegory about self-discovery and golf is only the vehicle in this case. It takes place in Savannah, Georgia during the Great Depression where a young woman, Adele (Charlize Theron), attempts to save her deceased father's golf resort by conducting a match among Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, and the local hero Randolph Junah (Matt Damon). Junah, due to the horrors seen by him in the Great War, is reluctant to renew his love affair with Adele or to play any golf - he has "lost his swing". Bagger Vance (Will Smith in a FANTASTIC performance!) shows up and shows Junah how to regain his "authentic swing".
The acting is SUPERB, especially Charlize Theron, Will Smith, Matt Damon, and the young actor who plays Hardy Greaves (the 11 year old assistant caddy).
The photography is FANTASTIC, as is the music!! (I watched it several times for the the music and photography alone.) And the scenery is breath-taking.
Robert Redford (of whom I am NOT a big fan) co-produced and directed this film. It is far and away the best film he has ever done.
Buy it. You will watch it over and over again. It is quite simply a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: At last, a great golf movie!
Review: "The game of golf cannot be won, only played." True words from Bagger Vance in a film that surprised me, as I had given up on a great golf movie ever being made. "Caddyshack" is a riot, of course, but it's a party movie that happens to take place at a country club, and "Tin Cup" is barely compelling and has one of the worst endings in movie history. It seems odd that it's taken so long for this to happen. Golf is a subject that many people can wax poetic about at great length, its mythology being a thing of reverence. And perhaps that's why it's taken so long, because that's such a subjective, internal, personal thing, and golf is a game of one where everything is internalized. Man must face the course, the elements, and himself, let alone anyone he's in competition with. But for me, "The Legend of Bagger Vance" is all fairways and greens, with never a bunker shot or a duck hook into the woods. Oh, sure, like the great game itself, the film occasionally falls a bit short of perfect, but only just a bit, and, again like the great game itself, it also occasionally takes my breath away in a moment of shining brilliance. This all requires actually caring about the game of golf itself, of course, and any film that utilizes legends Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen in strong supporting roles had better get it right. Well, those two characters are right in line with everything I've ever heard and read about these two, having played and studied the game for 35 years myself, Hagen the hard-drinking womanizer and Jones the perfect Southern gentlemen. That alone is a joy to behold, but add in the scenes where we see the psychology of the game play out and we have the foundation of a great film. The crowning touch is the way "The Legend of Bagger Vance" gets beyond the externals and helps us feel the internals that the lead character is feeling, going through his struggles on and off the golf course, rising above his long-lost game to play a truly great round of golf again, where, as Bagger says, "Completely stop thinking without falling asleep." I'd nitpick that Matt Damon plays the lead character of Junuh with too much "I can't believe I hit that shot" on his face, and that Will Smith's title character is treated far too nicely by white folks in the Depression-Era Deep South, but as I say, the film gets the previously unachieved moments so SO right that I can't nitpick much. Dang, now I've gotta read the book......
Rating:
Summary: Slow Play Ruins Golf
Review: Matt Damon has a terrible swing and I would like a match with him if he reads this...Anytime, anywhere. Not only poor swing mechanics, but he, his playing partners and the whole movie take forever to play out shots. This may have been acceptable with a more compelling story, with major plot points explained or with chemistry among any of the actors. But in this case a 2 stroke penalty is in order. Sadly this film was one of Jack Lemon's last pictures, and one he should have never laced up his spikes for. Damon's southern accent sounded like Denzel Washington, and Will Smith and Charlize Theron also play over par. I've heard the book is a great read. Golf is difficult enough without having to put so much effort into this tale.
Michael Duranko
www.bootism.com
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Summary: FOR THE "WILFULLY" STUPID AND EVERYONE ELSE!
Review: I recently read a quote about golf from 1908 that I really liked. It observed, simply, that to be obsessed with golf "is not so much a sign of pitiable insanity as of 'wilful' stupidity." Well count me as one of the "wilfully" stupid and if you are too then THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE is a movie that you will absolutely love. The movie tells the story of a has-been champion golfer, Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon), who goes to war and loses his identity. More importantly he also loses his swing (which to any golfer who knows IS his identity). He leaves behind the course, his life and the girl. The girl (Charlize Theron), upon the suicide of her father, becomes the owner of a championship golf course and, in order to put it on the map and get herself out of debt, plans an unlikely exhibition golf match and invites the day's golf greats Bobby Jones (Joel Gretsch) and Walter Hagen (Bruce McGill) to come and play. There's just one problem. The local city fathers, in order to draw a local gallery, demand that a local representative join the match. Who else is to be invited? None other than Junuh. Never mind that he has become a pathetic drunk and hasn't swung a club in years. We need a miracle, right? Right! Enter Bagger Vance (Will Smith), a mysterious, ghostly caddy who appears out of nowhere and not only helps Junuh find his swing and his game but also face the demons that have come to roost between his ears and find himself again. Wil Smith steals the show and, in one of the final scenes, will literally dance his way into your heart. Directed by Robert Redford, THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE is a beautiful movie to watch and goes well beyond golf as a game. This movie speaks of golf as an incomparable parable of life. Jack Lemmon is wonderful in a cameo as an elderly golfer who is ready to take his game to a higher (perhaps angelic) level and narrates the tale as he thinks back to the magical events he witnessed as a boy. Whether you like golf or not THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE will be a movie that you will love. Again, for the "wilfully" stupid, it's a great movie to watch just before your next round. THE HORSEMAN
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