Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Veronica Westfall The documentary, Undefeated, is about a film that reveals and builds up a person's character. Daniel Lindsey and T.J. Martin did an outstanding job directing this inspirational movie. This documentary is about three deprived young student-athletes from a town called Memphis. They all have their differences and struggles with football, school, and families. But after a volunteer coach comes in and helps out the team and these three athletes, things start changing for Manassas High School. Manassas High School in North Memphis was a school that wasn't very successful in football. Other teams would take advantage of this program and basically use them for practice. When Bill Courtney arrived as a volunteered coach, he changed the ability and attitudes of the athletes he had to deal with. Not only did he help this team turn into an athletic team but he also helped build this team into an academic team as well. There are a few athletes that are being focused on in this documentary that have struggles of their own. One athlete named O.C. Brown, was a strong left tackle for Manassas. He was one of the main star players on the team. He has many scholarship opportunities for college, but struggles with keeping his grades up, and scoring high on his tests. Another athlete named Montrail, also known as "Money", was an offensive lineman. He is pushing to get an academic scholarship but struggles because he suffers a knee injury and stops going to school. The last main athlete in this film is a returning player that just got out of Juvy, named Chavis. Chavis learns to overcome a lot of things in high school and his anger management is the main one. He is an explosive and talented linebacker but his temper sets him off at times that are unacceptable to the team and to the coaches. Bill Courtney, the volunteer coach for Manassas High School, was a life changer for these young men and for the rest of the football team. He brought passion, and heart into these boys. He taught them life lessons, and preached that it's not only about being an athlete, but being a student before an athlete. He did not care about the wins or the losses, but he was more concerned about revealing the character out of these young men; one of his main objectives was helping each other grow together as a team and also grow individually. He seen the outcomes he had on the athletes, and it was all love from Courtney and his ability to help these boys grow up and overcome adversity and their struggles. This film gives great detail and goes in depth about the real feelings of the athletes and coach. The camera men get great footage of the external and internal emotions out of the coach and the athletes. With that being said, throughout most of the documentary the camera men are actually holding the camera. It makes the film better, I believe because if it was just a movie being caught on a standing camera, you wouldn't get the same emotional touch from the characters. It's more of a live perspective and makes you feel like it is not even a movie, and it's just something that's happening in the moment. This documentary gives actual features and behind the scenes of an everyday life at Manassas high school and the football program. This gives you a better understanding and helps you grasp the details about the film. The target audience for this documentary would be coaches, players, and anyone involved in an athletic program. This also could be for anyone who wants to watch an inspirational film. Even if you weren't ever involved in football or another athletic program, this movie would show you that kids not only struggle with school, sports, and football but also with outside complications. It shows that one person, which is Bill Courtney in this film, can impact and help build character out of a hopelessness athlete and motivate them to be a better player, teammate, and student. Overall this 10 out of 10-star movie did an astounding job at showing us that this film was an Oscar- winning high school football documentary. From showing the background of where each of the main athletes in the movie came from and what their home-life was like, to parts of the film that keep you emotionally engaged by coach to player. This documentary is one for the books, and I would totally recommend seeing it. You will never get uninterested, and you will always be entertained by something passionate throughout the film. If you're looking for a gratifying sports flick, Undefeated is the way to go.

kahx First of all, I would like to start by stating that I absolutely loved Undefeated. This is easily one of the greatest movies/ documentaries that I have ever watched, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is considering watching it. Before I go into why it is such a great documentary I will fill you in with a short synopsis. Undefeated follows the Manassas Tigers football team, a terribly underfunded, underrepresented, and unfortunate team, with young players who are projected to have no future in anything they do as a result of their environment. Bill Courtney comes in as head coach and takes on the roll as savior and mentor to the team, while touching the lives of several particular players. In addition to the film focusing on Bill Courtney's impact on the Manassas program, we are inducted into the lives of Montrail "Money" Brown, O.C. Brown, and Chavis Daniels.There are several criteria that I used to assess how much I really enjoyed the film and whether or not I would recommend it. First, I determined that the intended audience was more than likely younger adults and sports fans, as well as people who like documentaries that are touching and appeal to the audiences' emotions and test their sympathy. This film touches on very touchy and relatable subjects including: poverty, imprisonment, underprivileged people and the effects that class and funding have on the education and experiences of students in our country. We also see the impact of athletics and an adult figure that has the slightest amount of faith in one's potential to succeed. For the reader who may still be on the cusp in terms of whether or not you will enjoy this film, it is easily relatable to Remember the Titans, Coach Carter, and Hoop Dreams. All of these movies take a hopeless group of people who have been pushed to the side and follow their journeys to triumph through blood, sweat, and tears. Undefeated incorporates great pacing in the way that the characters are introduced into the film as well as the way we see Coach Courtney touch each one of their lives. For example, we are introduced to two very different characters when we meet Chavis Daniels, a trouble child who is released from jail and placed on parole towards the beginning of the movie. He has a short temper and smart mouth, but you can see in the film how his new coach impacts his life and attitude. This is a change in character that you will want to see. Next, we see O.C. Brown. If you have every seen The Blind Side, imagine Michael Oher as his character is introduced and develops throughout the film, and this is how you can visualize O.C. Brown as he portrays himself in this documentary. I would strongly advise that everyone see this film so they can experience and appreciate how far both young men go despite their differences in character and work ethic. The last bit of criteria I want to address in order to convince you of how great this documentary is, is its uplifting spirit and theme of strength in how it introduces the town, school, football program, and character as dead beat and hopeless, and then in comes a savior through Coach Bill Courtney, and the program begins it's upward trend not necessarily in wins vs. losses, but rather in successes and defying the odds. I can confidently make the claim that the average movie watcher enjoys the theme of hope and this is the theme most present in Undefeated. All in all, I would 100% recommend this film to anyone who isn't sure if this is worth the time. It is a film that encompasses the themes of hope, strength, and family, while maintaining a relatively good pace when introducing the characters and the sequence of events. The sole criticism that I have for the makers of the film is that it honestly could have been 30 minutes longer and I would have greatly enjoyed seeing more events and parts of some of the characters home lives. Other than this, I give this movie a 10 out of 10 and hopefully have convinced you to at least check it out and prepare to enjoy.

Hitchcoc This is the story of the Manassas High School football team and their coach. It is a predominately black school in Tennessee. They have never had much success because they are lacking in every area, money, hope, and talent. A white coach who pretty much gives his entire life to his young charges, works to get them successful in the classroom and on the field. They have a chance to win the first playoff game in the history of the school, but he must nursemaid them in every way he can to get them to that point. They have one division one prospect, a huge offensive lineman, whose academics are at issue. He has a loose cannon kid who has spent time in prison and has just returned, carrying his baggage onto the team. There is nothing simplistic about this film. These young men have two strikes against them and this is a chance to be true team. It's hard to reproduce the heart that is in this movie. Just see it and ask yourself if it isn't one of the best sports films you've ever seen.

blake_hodges I don't write too many reviews on here, but I felt I had to after seeing the "5.5" rating (03-13- 2012) on IMDb. What the hell is up with this? In my view, "Undefeated" deserves an easy 10 out of 10. I believe 'Undefeated' could easily have been the best picture of 2011. Period.I just saw the film a few days ago. Disclaimer: I HATE football movies. I couldn't care less. Until I saw 'Undefeated.' Yes, it got my attention after winning Best Documentary after the Oscars. I was almost reluctant to go see it (I work in documentary filmmaking), but when I did, I was absolutely floored. Like, tears in my eyes as I exited the theater floored. 'Undefeated' isn't really a football movie. It's a documentary about an impoverished community that rallies around their highschool football team to try and turn things around, to try and lift their hopes, spirits and dreams. It's a film that shows the real struggles of real people that you care about. It's about young men redefining their lives after spending years in prison. It's about young men fighting to escape the abject poverty they were born into. It's about young men trying to prove that they can find success if they try hard enough. And of course, you have the Coach who pursues his impossibly vision of turning this failed football team around, by becoming a father figure and using inspiration as his primary tool. The thing that makes all of this truly special, is that these are REAL PEOPLE. This is not some scripted Hollywood blockbuster starting the latest pop-culture stars. 'Undefeated' cuts deep into real emotions and isn't afraid to expose us for who we are, for better or worse. This is stuff of high-drama that tops even the best of scripted films.'Undefeated' makes 'The Artist,' look like a Coke commercial. It makes 'Midnight in Paris' look like a Saturday morning cartoon. 'Undefeated' is true drama. True emotion. Real life. It pulls you in with charming fascinating 'characters', and it pulls you along, feeling every rise, every fall, every victory, every setback. If you have a heart, you will cry. For sadness, and for joy. This film has it all. Of all the movies released in 2011, this is the one that counts.