Rating: 
Summary: If You Love FOOTBALL (soccer) - GO NOW!!
Review: A wonderful, authentic football movie highlighting the plight of a small second division Scottish side, it's cranky manager (Duvall) and his successes on and off the pitch .. ..Beware however, that if you are not a true football fan, you will probably find the movie (and it's euro terminology) quite confusing and boring .. .. For me though, I found it as sweet as a great cup of java on a cold English morning .. .. Duvall plays the obsessed Scottish Manager who is dueling with American owner (Michael Keaton)over the future of the club .. .. Keaton brings in a former great in the person of ex-Rangers great ALLY MCCOIST who plays not only the aging savior, but Duvall's son-in-law .. .. Of course the tension doesn't end there .. .. Emotions are frayed as boozing, womanizing McCoist has seperated from his wife and hating the idea of playing in the "bus leagues" where he started .. .. The stunning KIRSTY MITCHELL plays Duvall's daughter and those aqua eyes are worthy the price of admission alone .. .. Those sweet eyes are not happy ones as Duvall has distanced her because of her marriage against Duvall's wishes .. .. With McCoist trying to hande his pop-in-law, Duvall's side gets hot and wins promotion to the Scottish Premier League along with a match vs. powerhouse GLASGOW RANGERS in the final of the Scottish Cup .. .. No hints here, see the movie .. .. The action scenes are realistic as they were filmed by former World Cup broadcasters with real-life commentary by current Sky Sports talent .. .. The lush landscape and village scenery gives who a terrific feel for the locals and their town .. .. The real shock came with the terrific performance by McCoist .. .. He played for Rangers for 15 years, starred on the Scotland National Team and was Europe's top scorer in 1992 .. .. All the footage of him scoring in years past was actually him!! All in all - A must-see for all football devotees, as well as Duvall fans .. .. See how well he pulls off his working-class Scottish accent .. ..
Rating: 
Summary: Should have dressed Duvall in a kilt
Review: Every couple of years, a film is released about some underdog baseball, hockey, basketball, or (U.S. style) football team that surmounts great odds to win the Big One under the leadership of an inspiring coach. Maybe some day it'll be curling. In any case, A SHOT AT GLORY puts the viewer into the stands for Scotland's brand of football, i.e. soccer. A long way from Lonsome Dove on the Rio Grande, Robert Duvall plays Gordon McLeod, the coach of the team playing for the town of Kilnockie. The club's owner, Yank Peter Cameron (Michael Keaton), has just acquired, to Gordon's disgust, mega-star Jackie McQuillan (Ally McCoist). Jackie, though a talented player, has a volatile temper and is the philandering husband of Gordon's daughter Kate (Kirsty Mitchell). Adding insult to injury, McQuillan had persuaded Kate to marry outside of her parents' church. As Kilnockie, a second-tier team, battles its way into the company of the Big Boys and the Scottish National Cup championship match against the powerhouse Glasgow Rangers, Duvall's sometimes incomprehensible Scottish brogue is the best reason to see A SHOT AT GLORY. I'm no judge of the dialect, but Duvall seemed a natural at it. And I could lose myself in Mitchell's strikingly beautiful eyes. However, if the film appeared in an "art theater" near me, I can understand why it must have been for no longer that it takes to kick a penalty shot. Besides the relatively unfamiliar milieu, the unusual (for the genre) ending might perhaps be uninspiring. The inclusion of the Kelsey (Cole Hauser) character, an American rookie goalie that gets thrust into a tough spot, could have provided a subplot of considerable substance if fully developed; but it wasn't. Even putting Duvall in a kilt would have raised it a notch. A soccer fan will likely rate the movie higher as is, especially since McCoist played magnificently for many years with the real-life Glasgow Rangers and was Europe's top scorer in the early 90s. Because of Duvall's top billing, I wanted to like A SHOT AT GLORY much more than I did. I guess I'll just have to plug in my much-viewed copy of LONESOME DOVE and once again watch old Gus herd those beeves to Montana.
Rating:
Summary: Avoids some sports cliches, a bit uneasy with its setting
Review: Fans of typical cinderella-team sports movies may find this worth watching, even though its a a genre long run out of anything entirely different to do. There is a bit of room here for surprises and avoidance of usual cliches, but don't expect totally amazing new ground. This time its about a soccer team in Scotland. This genre, more familiarly set in America, doesn't seem entirely at home in its new setting. The Scottish flavor is somewhat represented, but there's always a feeling that the performers may not be quite at home in the different cultural setting. The generally impressive actor Robert Duvall is the lead as the team's coach. He doesn't seem entirely comfortable with his affected Scottish accent, and occasionally seems to lose focus on it, drifting back into sounding more like an American. Nonetheless there's some drama worth sticking with this for, especially in the second half, after a sometimes slow start.
Rating: 
Summary: A hidden gem among great sports film
Review: Football (otherwise known as soccer) is the great Scottish pastime as baseball is to America, and for years two teams have always dominated the sport, the Celtics and the Rangers. A Shot At Glory follows the exploits of a second division team from the small town of Kilnocke, whose owner had just hired one of the best player to ever participate in the game, Jackie McQuillan, but one problem is that he is the long estranged son-in-law of the team's head coach, Gordon McLeod. As they work their way in one of the biggest national tournament, the two of them must come to terms with their own fears and demons, and learn to put their past behind them. A Shot At Glory is a solid movie supported by a veteran cast, Robert Duvall does a great job portraying Gordon, a man holding a long term grudge against his own daughter and his best friend, he devotes most of his time in trying to get his team to the top and the respect it deserves. Michael Keaton had a small part as Peter Cameron, the American owner of the Kilnocke team, most of his scenes were with Duvall, and the two of them contributed greatly to the success of this film. Ally McCoist plays Jackie, a talented player with an attitude, he's impulsive, explosive and rash, part of the story is about him seeking redemption in the relationship with his wife, and to a lesser extent in trying to make a come back to the sports that he loved so much. Well acted with some of the best football action you'll ever see on screen, I really recommend A Shot At Glory to anyone who's remotely a sports fan. Don't miss your chance to catch this movie in the midst of big summer blockbusters of 2002.
Rating:
Summary: A hidden gem among great sports film
Review: Football (otherwise known as soccer) is the great Scottish pastime as baseball is to America, and for years two teams have always dominated the sport, the Celtics and the Rangers. A Shot At Glory follows the exploits of a second division team from the small town of Kilnocke, whose owner had just hired one of the best player to ever participate in the game, Jackie McQuillan, but one problem is that he is the long estranged son-in-law of the team's head coach, Gordon McLeod. As they work their way in one of the biggest national tournament, the two of them must come to terms with their own fears and demons, and learn to put their past behind them. A Shot At Glory is a solid movie supported by a veteran cast, Robert Duvall does a great job portraying Gordon, a man holding a long term grudge against his own daughter and his best friend, he devotes most of his time in trying to get his team to the top and the respect it deserves. Michael Keaton had a small part as Peter Cameron, the American owner of the Kilnocke team, most of his scenes were with Duvall, and the two of them contributed greatly to the success of this film. Ally McCoist plays Jackie, a talented player with an attitude, he's impulsive, explosive and rash, part of the story is about him seeking redemption in the relationship with his wife, and to a lesser extent in trying to make a come back to the sports that he loved so much. Well acted with some of the best football action you'll ever see on screen, I really recommend A Shot At Glory to anyone who's remotely a sports fan. Don't miss your chance to catch this movie in the midst of big summer blockbusters of 2002.
Rating: 
Summary: A good story... ruined by a wildly impossible sub-plot
Review: Here is a sports film that gets the difficult stuff right, but blows it all thanks to a gratingly impossible and totally unnecessary sub-plot. First the good bits. Kilnockie - an invented Scottish second division side - embark on an unlikely run in the Scottish Cup. So far so unoriginal. But the on-field scenes are superbly realistic - comfortably the best I have ever seen in any sport-related film. Then we have a real professional sportsman playing the lead - but amazingly this is a real professional sportsman who can act. Indeed he acts the pants off several better known actors and is utterly believable. It is also unpredictable - just at the moment you expect the "usual" to happen... it doesn't! There is a standard love interest, for example, but it doesn't get in the way. Throw in a sectarian sub-plot (about which more could have been done in fact) and this could have been a classic. So why the **** did some eejut allow this stupid sub-plot about an American owner threatening to move the club to Ireland? Not only was this clearly and obviously shoe-horned into the script at the last minute, not only was the American owner - played by Michael Keaton - unconvincing (and appalingly performed) to the point of absurdity, but as a storyline it is utterly, utterly, utterly impossible. Anyone who knows anything about the game will know that a club based in one country cannot play in another's league. UEFA wouldn't wear it, even if the SFA allowed it (which they would not). But like a bad penny - every time the film getting going - this inept plot line shows up and has the effect of chalk being scraped across a blackboard. Eeeeghhhhh!!!! Yes - we can all guess WHY this stupid idea was added - because US audiences would identify with it. But the trouble is it destroys the film for anyone who knows anything about football by constantly highlighting the fiction. One can only suspend belief so far! And its all SUCH a shame!!!
Rating:
Summary: Scotland still waiting to see this film.
Review: Impossible not to give 5* to a film about Scottish fitba'.
I admire Robert Duvall's attempt at a Scottish accent but it wisnae very authentic. Ally McCoist is a footballing hero but his acting was wooden, and so surprisingly was Kirsty's, but at least those alluring eyes made up for it. There was plenty of opportunity to capitalise on small town Scotish humour but it never fully materialised.
Too many plots and sub plots floating in and out and never fully developed. The idea of Robert Duvall disowning his daughter becos she married outside the faith is a bit extreme in modern Scotland, but the chance to underline just how important the Catholic/Protestant Divide still is to many Scottish Football supporters was missed. It was a clever joke of the director to make Ally an ex-Celtic player. He never played for the Tim Malloys in his life, and all the football shirts in the archive TV footage in the film have been cleverly recoloured. Finally, I had to fall off the seat at the thought of Queen of the South being described as a 'mighty' team but first division is first division. We can't buy this DVD in Scotland yet, so thanks to Amazon.com for sending me a copy, so I can show it to all my Zone 2 owning friends.
Rating:
Summary: Leagues and Wales
Review: In response to a previous review, football teams can play in other leagues, look at Wales... That said most of that review is incorrect and should be disregarded because its simply not true.
Rating:
Summary: Glory Days....
Review: Robert Duvall is the quenessential actor's actor. His ability to not only morph into any role but actually disappear entirely truly makes him a national treasure. However, for this 2000 release, he becomes an international treasure in the role of coach of a second tier Scottish football team. Duvalls weathered countenance is right at home among the equally grand and haggard Scottish countryside. Michael Keaton turns in a brief but potent turn as the team's owner, set on moving the team from its small Scottish home to a bigger stadium in Dublin. The film is more of a quiet character study than an all out sports film, but the game scenes infuse the movie with surprising passion and energy. Well worth owning.
Rating:
Summary: Glory Days....
Review: Robert Duvall is the quenessential actor's actor. His ability to not only morph into any role but actually disappear entirely truly makes him a national treasure. However, for this 2000 release, he becomes an international treasure in the role of coach of a second tier Scottish football team. Duvalls weathered countenance is right at home among the equally grand and haggard Scottish countryside. Michael Keaton turns in a brief but potent turn as the team's owner, set on moving the team from its small Scottish home to a bigger stadium in Dublin. The film is more of a quiet character study than an all out sports film, but the game scenes infuse the movie with surprising passion and energy. Well worth owning.
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