Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful, Moving Motion Picture
Review: The Legend of Bagger Vance is much more than a movie about a golf caddie. It's a tale of redemption and the indomitable nature of the human spirit. It's about how the rhythm of golf is the rhythm of life, and so much more.Matt Damon plays Rannulph Junuh, the pride of Savannah and one of the area's best golfers, who returns from World War I shattered and disillusioned from the horrors of war. He reluctantly competes in a local exhibition golf match against golf legends Bobby Jones (Joel Gretsch) and Walter Hagen (Bruce McGill) to give it some local flavor. Junuh is estranged from his socialite girlfriend (Charlize Theron), who is sponsoring the tournament to save her late father's golf resort, and idolized by young Hardy (newcomer J. Michael Moncrief, played as an older man by Jack Lemmon) but still not sure of his ability until the mysterious caddie Bagger Vance (Will Smith) comes in and teaches him about golf, life, and redemption. Director Robert Redford manages to extract superb performances from his cast, and despite the fact that Will Smith was billed as the star this picture clearly belongs to Matt Damon, who turns in his best acting performance since Good Will Hunting. The cinematography in this film is spectacular, and Rachel Portman's score is one of the most moving and beautiful I'd heard in a long time. There's a lot to like about this movie...and it has become one of my all time favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun enough
Review: Legend of Bagger Vance (PG-13)- Fun, nostalgic, with bursts of inspiration throughout. Will Smith is far too young for this role but does what he can. Charize Theron is hilarious!
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Whimsical Golf Tale!
Review: One of the things I love best about Robert Redford's movies is the singular visual quality he employs in each, and the way he uses the environment to add to the telling of the tale. Whether it be in the breath-taking "A River Runs Through It", in which the stunning Montana countryside is a virtual unattributed co-star in the film, or "The Horse Whisperer", in which every rugged natural element about the pristine rural surroundings add to the tale, he always uses his topography, climate, and setting to charm the audience into the frame of reference he is using to spin his yarn. This is no less so here, where he uses the gorgeous background of the rural countryside in telling this tale of a man coming to terms with his potential. This is a classic tale of a professional golfer with almost unlimited potential who is content to let it all ride because he is basically afraid of success. And with Matt Damon, he finds a believable and sympathetic protagonist who decides to take the chance and make the effort based on the mysterious appearance and subsequent profound influence of Bagger Vance, an almost angelic figure who we are finally left to wonder about. Will Smith steps out of his usual cocky roles to give a thoughtful and whimsical performance, and add immeasurably to the film. Smith acts as a fulcrum throughout the movie, showing us the wisdom of homespun realism as opposed to city wisdom, of simple virtues as opposed to more sophisticated aims and pursuits, and of honesty and craftsmanship over gamesmanship and conniving.
This movie is very much in line with his previous efforts in "the Natural', another whimsical tale about a man coming to term with his talents and his demons, learning to finally accept both as coming from him at the same time he resolves his existential situation. This is the case here, too, and one walks away from the film feeling good about the world. And watching Charlize Theron support her man is enough to make anyone cheer. This is beautifully filmed period piece, and all of the production values from costumes to dialogue to settings to historical accuracy are impeccable drawn together in service to the plot and resolution. The golf sequences are extremely well done, and there is hardly a golf fan in the world who wouldn't like the film just on that basis alone. For those of us who are fans of Redford's work, this is another in a series of thoughtful efforts to paint us a picture of an alternative side to this busy and frantic world we might otherwise never see. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The rythm of the game is just like the rhythm of life.
Review: I absolutely love this movie. I know it gets some mixed reviews but I think it is because the world is way too cynical. Redford does and excellent job with view of sport as Metaphor for life. Juna has lost his swing which in life terms is his soul and must get it back if he is going to get back in the game. Bagger is a spiritual sage (caddy) of some sort who is there to help him find his way. The cinematography is just breathtaking. The golfcourse looks like the Garden of Eden. I love stories about larger than life characters on a great journey. This is certainly one of them. The movie just makes you feel good about life. I find the score enchanting as it especially enhances the golf scenes. A very pleasing movie indeed. Will Smith does a great job in his untradional dramatic role although he has a few rather humorous parts. The best is Lemmon's ending line as narrator. "Bagger always said it is a game that can't be won only played. So I played. I play on. I play for the moments yet to come. Looking for my place in the field."
Rating:
Summary: Painting come to life, beautiful movie to watch
Review: I love this movie! The story is sweet and fun, but I really love the cinematography the most. This movie is absolutely beautiful to watch. Its like a period painting come to life. The costumes, the sets, the details are just so rich. Story is finely acted, Will Smith is refreshingly lowkey and subtle. Matt Damon is great and Charlize Theron is as beautiful as a woman can possibly be. For me, this movie has great replayability, I often pop it in on a lazy afternoon. If you love golf, you will especially love this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip it!
Review: Any film that has Will Smith uttering words like "yessum!" has to be awful. On that basis alone, this baby gets the big one star. Skip it!
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: If you like golf, Savannah, movies set during the great Depression or sports in general, you'll like this movie. Most comments on the Internet are negative, but I think they are from younger viewers looking for exploding heads and time-travel alien abductions and such. Serious critics rated the movie a little better. I found it entertaining. The film opens with a wealthy businessman from Savannah having passed away with large debts to many parties. Several businessmen are hounding his daughter, Adel Invergordon (Charlize Theron), to sell them his assets on the cheap, including a golf course he owned. Instead, to pay her father's debts, she decides to sponsor an exhibition golf between the two greatest golf player in the world, Bobby Jones (Joel Gretsch) and Walter Hagen (Bruce McGill. She puts up all of her available cash, ten thousand dollars, as prize money. The business and political leaders of Savannah do not think it would be good idea unless someone from Savannah was also in the exhibition. The problem is they don't have anyone, that is, until someone remembers Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon).
Rannulph was a World War I vet from Savannah who came home from the war with post-traumatic stress syndrome. Before the war he was a gifted, champion golfer. Since then he's lost his swing, and now he's an unemployed drunk and card player. It takes a lot of convincing to get Rannulph to join the exhibition. I can't blame him since he'd be playing against the two best players in the world. Out of nowhere, comes a man named Bagger Vance (Will Smith) offering to be his caddy for five dollars. Bagger Vance is a mysterious, guardian angel type character. When it comes to golf technique he's totally incompetent, but he's a great coach in the mental aspects of the game, as in self-confidence. As you can imagine, the whole city of Savannah is rooting for Rannulph. In times like this of economic disaster, people look for things to celebrate. The story is told through the eyes and memory of an elderly man named Hardy Greaves. As a ten-year-old in Savannah, Hardy (J. Michael Montcrief) helps convince Rannulph to participate and is an assistant caddy to him. Rannulph is his hope and his hero, and Hardy believes golf is the greatest thing in the world. The core of the movie is the interaction among Rannulph, Hardy and Bagger. The movie has the cinematic air of A River Runs Through It, which Robert Redford also directed. I mean that in a good way, although both movies occasionally flirt with a metaphysical silliness. The cinematography is great. The character Bagger Vance doesn't have enough characterization, and that's why the ending lacks sufficient oomph-just like A River Runs Through It lacked that oomph at the end also. Bagger Vance lacks the mystery and power of other mystery men in movies, like John Coffey, in The Green Mile. I like the actor Matt Damon, especially after seeing Good Will Hunting, but he looked too young for a burned out, drunken World War I vet in 1931, which is when the movie is set. I'm being picky. On the whole it's a nice movie. It makes me wish I played golf and lived next to the golf course in Savannah.
Rating:
Summary: Superb & Eloquent
Review: Robert Redford was superb in directing this period piece. A very eloquent performance from Matt Damon also rounds out the overall beauty of this film. One of my very favourite movies of all time. I am now a bonified fan of Redford's direction and Damon's acting. Can't wait to see their future projects. I am definitely propelled to read Steven Pressfield's book from which this film was adapted. LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS FILM!
Rating:
Summary: The Legend of Bagger Vance
Review: This is a must see video for anyone that loves the game of golf. It brings out the philosophy and even the spiritualty of the great sport. It is especially good for those that enjoy a happy ending!
Rating:
Summary: A True Legend
Review: I am quite certain that The Legend of Bagger Vance is a special film. In comparison to other films that have been made over the course of film history, Bagger is a film that, for entertainment's sake alone, is probably pretty average or at most above average. But to the thinking movie-goer, this film has a lot more to offer: an interesting mix of hidden meanings, hidden dialogue, and a bridging of time past with time present that makes it an intriguing film of human interest, rebirth, and spirituality. Don't worry if you don't see it right away- it took me multiple viewings to really decipher what I believe Redford was trying to get across. Truth is, I'm still probably missing some things. That being said, many of Redford's films have open-ended meanings; that is, people interpret the film's meaning differently and Bagger Vance is certainly no different. For those of you who think this is an average film, I would ask you to please look closer.
One interesting thing about this film that some viewers have questioned is the title. Bagger Vance is really not the centerpiece of the story which begs the question, who is this story about? Rannulph Junuh, the golfer who is being brought back to the light or is it about Hardy Greaves, the young boy who is telling the story as he remembers it as an old man. One interesting take I have heard is that the story never really DID take place- that the whole story was indeed the imagination of Hardy Greaves; he romanticized this golfer so much through his father's stories (in the film, Hardy says that he never saw Junuh play) and that Junuh actually DIED during that war sequence in the film. Certainly an interesting hypothesis and worth studying further, but for all intents and purposes, the story is about Rannulph Junuh. Or is it about you? The story is told in a fable-like fashion where the characters get in, make their points, and get out quickly enough to make you wonder what just happened and how it applies to your life.
Also notice the dialogue and how God or heaven is mentioned or hinted at throughout the film. When Bagger appears out of the darkness he says that he is taking in, "some of God's glories," as if God has just released him to help Junuh, a la Clarence in "It's a Wonderful Life". When Junuh is struggling in the match and the town mayor Neskaloosa asks Bagger, "What on God's green earth are you telling him?" Bagger replies, "Sir, I'd be most appreciative if we talk about this a bit later; right now I'm busy assisting Mr. Junuh," as if somewhere down the road Bagger and his angelic qualities will call on Neskaloosa. And lastly, when Bagger is showing Junuh "The Field" and Junuh blasts his opening drive well down the fairway, watch where Redford takes us as the ball in flight angles up toward the sky. These instances further explain Bagger's heaven-sent objective to help Junuh find, "the swing that God gave you when you come into this world."
Time also is a major player in the film as Junuh struggles to find his authentic self. One of the tag lines to market the film was, "It was just a moment ago," signifying that the barrier that separates us from the self we were a time ago is indeed a thin one. How many times have we looked upon a past time in our lives where we experienced success and said, "I wish I was that person today" or "Where did that person go?" For Bagger, his challenge in the film is to show Junuh that as far removed as he feels from his pre-war days, his authentic self is trying to re-surface amidst the years of self-doubt. We see time play a major part in this film during a scene where Junuh is beginning to regain his confidence and break through the time barrier. He approaches Adele at the dinner party and kisses her and everything else around them stops- including the music. They have a brief romantic interlude that, to this point in the film, has been missing due to Adele's frustration and Junuh's apparent lack of interest in their relationship. For a moment, Redford takes us back to Junuh's pre-war days to when Junuh and Adele were madly in love. He is literally transcending time during this scene; then the kiss wears off, the music begins again, and Adele is back to her present day posturing, trying to make Junuh want her again. Don't believe me? Watch and listen the next day as Adele pulls Junuh off behind the tree and Junuh asks if something happened last night since they talked.
One other area that is worth mentioning is the numeric message that Redford uses to highlight the "one true self." In many literary tales, numbers are important factors to the story(usually the number 3) and in this film notice how Redford hons in on the first hole, using the "1" on the first flag and holding the shot on at least two occasions. This symbolizes the idea of finding your "one true self."
These are just a few things that I have noticed while watching "Bagger" that others have missed. I'm sure there are others, including the ending, which have an even greater significance. The cinematogrophy is amongst the most beautiful I have ever seen- in fact the only films I could think of that rivaled "Bagger" were other Redford films, "The Horse Whisperer" and "A River Runs Through It."
I have seen many films that I have enjoyed over the years but few have stayed with me the way The Legend of Bagger Vance has. The scene where Bagger is showing Junuh "The Field" is one of the most awe-inspiring montages I have ever seen. We know Bagger has the ability to see "what others cannot see" early in the film when he "senses" the storm coming amidst a picture perfect day, and we wonder what Bagger allows Junuh to see on that first hole while he is showing Junuh "The Field." An ambitious, optimistic, and nostalgic film that only someone with the eye of Robert Redford could a) approach and, b) tell effectively, The Legend of Bagger Vance is a modern classic that I am sure we'll see on Turner Classic Movies sometime in the very near future.
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