The Natural (1984):

Starring:

Robert Redford - Roy Hobbs

Glenn Close - Iris Gaines

Robert Duvall - Max Mercy

Kim Basinger - Memo Paris

Wilford Brimley - Pop Fisher

Barbara Hershey - Harriet Bird

Richard Farnsworth - Red Blow

Joe Don Baker - "The Whammer"

Michael Madsen - Bump Bailey

Darren McGavin - Gus Sands

Director:

Barry Levinson (Sphere; Sleepers; Toys)

Rotten Tomatoes: 82%

Flixster: 86%

Synopsis:

An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league in this magical sports fantasy. With the aid of a bat cut from a lightning struck tree, Hobbs lives the fame he should have had earlier when, as a rising pitcher, he is inexplicably shot by a young woman.

Review:

Widely considered as the greatest sports film of all time. This is the film that set up all the other movie's in the genre. OK so let's start off in the opening moments of the film where a young 20ish year old Roy Hobbs is getting ready to make the move to the major leagues as a pitcher. Now unlike modern day films where they hire a younger actor who looks a lot like the main actor to portray him in younger form (ie. Billy Beane in Moneyball) they allow Mr. Redford to play the younger version of himself. Which in most films is completely acceptable, especially when your dealing with actors who look like they are younger. The best part of this is you have Robert Redford who at the time of the film was 48 playing himself at 20. Again which would be totally acceptable if he looked the part. However he doesn't. No matter how much make up or clothes or the way in which he acts can make him not look almost 50. I laughed pretty hard as the story progressed & he's still playing a 20 year old. Even better is his main romantic opposite as a younger man is Glenn Close, who is also playing 20 year old version of herself. At the time of the film she was 37, slightly more acceptable however she looks her age no matter how much they cake face her up. This film answers a question that I might ask myself, which is: Was Glenn Close attractive when she was younger?. The answer is NO. Speaking of unattractive women, Kim Basinger. YUCK. Anyways back to the actual film. I love the character of Roy Hobbs. His desire & love of the game coupled with his dark & mysterious past & then you throw in the long lost love. This is some good movie making. The baseball scenes aren't overly anything special but the movie is so much more than just baseball which makes it the best in it's genre. I will say that the scene where Bump dies is really stupid & quite ridiculous. It just looked so fake & poorly done. It's actually quite crazy how much younger Robert Redford looks like current Brad Pitt. There are so many scenes where you take a quick look at him & you can see almost an unrecognizable difference between the two. Same jaw line, similar hair, the same age lines in the same places. Uncanny. The cheese factor is somewhat high for this even if it is considered the first of its kind. The "if you play one more game you might die" gimmick that has been mistreated & abused since this film. The old "throwing the big game" shtick. A woman trying to screw her way to the top of baseball. And of course this is the one that started it all. The bottom of 9, 2 out, down by 1, full count, bases loaded. It's all here, but it was the first so it's kind of allowed. Overall movie holds up great for being slightly older than me, better than my body is holding up. Acting is good, story is good, cinematography is good enough for the time in which it was made. I also loved the knock off Babe Ruth character "The Whammer" that they introduce early on. Pretty darn funny. Really does hold up as one of the best sports movies of all time. To set the record straight as good as it was & as much as I like it I still personally feel that Field Of Dreams is the best sports movie ever made. But that's just my personal opinion.

80%

Lead Acting: 12/15
Supporting Cast: 11/15

Plot: 8/10
Compared To The Genre: 9/10

Cinematography: 16/20

Intrigue: 16/20

Extra: 8/10