Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie - It will make you cry!
Review: It seems that Kevin Costner has found a formula that works for his more popular movies, the formula being baseball. For once, I'm not complaining. I enjoyed the way the movie used flashbacks as KC looked upon his life. Their was a definite chemistry between Costner and Preston which made the movie more believable. Finally, there are a couple of parts in this movie that well jerk some tears right out of you. Sure, you might say, OH NO another baseball movie, but this is one worth watching. How often does a movie make you feel anything? This one will.I highly recommend this one, don't miss it. I am adding this one to my collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb Costner & Kelly performances
Review: The theme and acting are superb. A sure to become classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie - just enjoy it
Review: I mainly wanted to see this movie because I'm a Kelly Preston fan. I half expected to not like it because I'm not really a big baseball fan. But as I watched, I couldn't help but enjoy it. Does it have it's share of Hollywood cliches? Maybe. But if you don't over-analyze it, you'll find something in the movie that you can relate to in some way. Relax for a couple hours and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Kevin Costner sure likes to be in sport movies!
Review: This was a great movie and I enjoyed every minute of it. It almost made me cry when he was about to lose his arm. I recommened this movie to everyone because it is the best Costner film I have ever seen since Field of Dreams and Tin Cup.
Rating: 
Summary: Conventional.
Review: We know we're in trouble with this one when, at the beginning of the movie, we see all the Detroit Tigers -- wearing really nice sportcoats -- walking shoulder-to-shoulder toward the camera in slo-mo. Yikes -- Film Cliche #2234 (sub)B! What's aggravating is that *For Love of the Game* could have been great. In fact, its design is ambitious and it has a good story to tell, but the execution disappoints. As is typical of films in the '90's, slow pacing deadens any suspense, grounds the narrative flow to a lumbering halt, and eventually obliterates any interest in the outcome. I have nothing against long films; I have a LOT against slow pacing, which is really the pestilence of moviemaking just recently. A film can be 80 minutes long and still be slow-paced. Directors are trying to fool us: long pauses in dialogue are meant to convince us of deep thought; aimlessly constructed scenes are meant to convince us of "realistic" depictions of life. Movies are not life. They are an art form. Big difference. Perhaps Mr. Raimi likes baseball, otherwise the idea of him helming this project doesn't make any sense. This is real hack-work, without any evidence of the unique talent he's shown us in the past. (Perhaps the somber *A Simple Plan* was a warning.) Rather than focusing on the story, the director chooses to give us long close-ups of the burnished and bland Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston. Cliches are favored over uniqueness. Even the idea of Costner pitching a PERFECT GAME seems overdetermined (ah, but this is Hollywood). The movie isn't terrible . . . just conventional.
Rating:
Summary: Almost a strikeout.........
Review: For the Love of the Game is about Detriot Tiger's pitcher Billy Chapel. He is in the twilight of his career. His team is in last place, the owner sold the team, his girlfriend is leaving, and he has to pitch against the hated Yankees. Billy has a difficult decision to make whether to play another year or retire. During the game he reminiscence about the good and bad experiences about his relationship with his girlfriend Heather. This movie was at times unbearable. The story was filled with romance cliches and the ending was predictable. Rent before you buy.....
Rating:
Summary: Is it a baseball movie, or a love story?
Review: This is a good movie, but I'm here to warn you of something. There was another baseball movie that Kevin Coster was in about 10 years ago that everybody loved, don't expect that here. This is a good movie by itself, although it is a love story. Usually people who like baseball movies don't like love stories, and visa versa. The problem here, is that it is both. Since it is both, I would guess that this movie is geared twords married couples. Overall a good love story, and a good baseball flick. Do the two mix? That's up to you, if you can stand both.
Rating:
Summary: For the Love of the Game
Review: For the love of the game. I have one question, why? For the Love of the Game is just an average baseball movie. If you really want to see Kevin Costner in a baseball movie, go get "Field of Dreams or Bull Durham." For the love of the game, is a fine movie for killing two hours if you have nothing else to do, or if you are a fan of Kevin Costner or Kelly Preston. if you like a director Sam Rami,(aka Jockser the Mighty). The dvd is packed with triva that would the frustrate the non-baseball fan.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable for baseball fans
Review: Billy Chapel, pitching what could be his last game in the majors and also facing the loss of his girlfriend of 5 years, relives his life and current romance in a series of flashbacks skillfully interspersed with the game. We know there's nothing at stake for this losing team -- they've got no shot at the playoffs -- but Billy's career is possibly over and he wants nothing more than to WIN THIS GAME. Kevin Costner's latest baseball effort falls somewhere between "Bull Durham" and "Field of Dreams" on the "seriousness" scale. While not as sweepingly romanticizing of the game of baseball as "Field of Dreams", this film does treat its subject with due reverence all the same. The baseball scenes are extremely well done, and baseball fans should enjoy them. Those who do not enjoy baseball won't necessarily dislike this film, but it will appeal more to fans of the game. Some may criticize the love story (although I found it quite sweet), but in any case this is not meant to be a love story between two people, but rather between a man and his passion for playing baseball. And like many classic romances, the lovers -- man and baseball -- don't always wind up living happily ever after together. Does this mean he "settles" for the romance he CAN have -- with the woman? Of course not. The film is all about Billy coming to grips with the reality of his finished career, what his wants are, and what his NEEDS are. He is not a perfect human being -- in fact he is quite flawed -- but in his quest for the perfect game he realizes perfection in life is elusive.
Rating:
Summary: A Dominating Performance...
Review: Billy Chapel (Costner), pitching what will be his last game, is so dominating in fact, that NOTHING gets to first base -- not even the romance. That's the curious split-quality about this film. It offers very realistic and exciting baseball scenes, while at the same time plodingly developing a romantic story-line through the vehicle of flashbacks while Chapel succeeds on the mound. An interesting cinematic twist, for sure. Nevertheless, it fails because the romance, like a bunt foul, just doesn't get the pulse going. Billy's flashbacks seem all-too intentionally fashioned to cram in every cliche of the romance genre. Jane is the cute career-minded woman, but is ever-so reluctant to acknowledge any interest in commitment. She vacilates like crazy, then takes a chance and visits Billy at spring training, unannounced. You guessed it, she stumbles in on him just as the "other girl" (in obligatory briefs) appears on the staircase and asks about the hair dryer. Likewise, he stumbles in on one of her writing assignments to find... (well you know already). There is the "surprise daughter" from a previous relationship, which by this time the audience fully expects. And then there's Billy's soulfully staring into Jane's apartment window (in the rain, no less) as he sees her dim figure move towards the "other guy." Okay, enough. Let's just get back to the drama of the baseball game. This is done, mercifully, at varioius junctures in the plot. One wonders how much more powerful a film like this might have been if, say, Billy started the game havig to make a momentous decision on the relationship. The flashbacks might then have explored alternative scenarios, leaving the audience guessing until the "real" decision (and outcome) is revealed at the conclusion of the perfect game. That would have been more like baseball -- running the alternatives over and over in one's mind. Unfortunately, the movie just drags on with the worn out "I want her, I hope she wants me enough to come back" theme. Maybe this is sufficient drama for a high school kid "in love," but it really strikes out with the more knowledgable fans of love and the game.
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