Crooked Arrows

source: Crooked Arrows

I would love to see Native Americans restore their culture and get rid of those disgusting casinos. The white man is still stealing your land with drinking and gambling. Your ancestors are crying for they're people. Please bulldoze them all and restore your dignity! I had no idea Native Americans have played lacrosse for centuries. I really enjoyed this movie. I removed a star because they didn't use a Native American young woman for one of the main characters.

A wonderful, inspiring family film that connects at every level. Oh, if there were only more films made like this, instead of the tasteless garbage that passes as family fare these days. Brendan Routh, a fellow Iowan, is wonderful to watch and does a marvelous, homey, down-to-earth turn from his role as Superman, and the young Native American lacrosse players blossom into fine actors before our eyes. I have only been slightly interested in lacrosse before this movie; I am now a convert and will be watching this truly native American sport whenever I have the chance. I watched this film with a huge smile on my face throughout and a growing pride in my -- as Routh would say -- "watered down" Native American heritage. Rent it,buy it, or download it, but enjoy it!

Just a fun little movie where the bad guy redeems himself and you get to cheer for the home team. I flipped this movie on just for something on the TV and pretty soon the four of us put down the cell phones, tablet and ipod and were cheering on the Arrows. It had some pretty funny moments, some Yeh! moments, fairly fun sports scenes and even taught you a little about Indian culture. By the end, my 11 yr old daughter, 13 yr old son and wife and I were giving the fist pump! Parents, be sure and be ready to explain what * means. It was pretty funny in context, but caught me be surprise. :) You could do much worse for a family movie night.

It's a good movie for those who like Lacrosse or those who wish to get a feel for the sport. Let's face it, movies depicting the sport are rare. I wanted to see it because I played intercollegiate Lacrosse and knew I could appreciate the movie if it did a fair job of conveying the rigors of playing the sport; it does, sufficiently so but no more. I was not thrilled by the drama or core story as I doubt any moviegoer would. The cast did however do a good job of performing the 'game play' scenes. The toughness of the game may have been downplayed a little to the eyes of the erudite; the opposite will be perceived by those who have not played or seen several matches. The endless practice required to perform at the level depicted in the movie did not get enough coverage; I suppose the lessons and moral values the movie tries to impart had to take precedence. Unless you have an interest of some kind in Lacrosse, you might want to take note of the movie, otherwise if you want sport related drama of any kind, there are so many more better movies to pick from, I wouldn't know where to start.

Plain and simple...if you like the underdog sports films (Rocky, Miracle, Friday Night Lights etc etc etc) then you will love this. If you don't care for them then you won't. The film is very formulaic, it is practically lifted right from The Mighty Ducks scripts. I'm not saying this makes it bad, I simply am using it to explain to readers why they will or will not like it. Now as many reviewers have said, the thing that sets Crooked Arrows apart from those other films is they fascinating use of Native American culture. Now whether or not the information they show is factual, I don't know. I hope that it is because I don't think Native American culture is often explored in film especially to this end. The characters are good, although perhaps slightly one dimensional without any one of them standing out. Good direction and sports cinematography leaves you cheering for the time and will still make you feel good in the end. Is it unique? No far from it. Does that make it less enjoyable? Nope not at all. Crooked Arrows is a feel good sports film like any other. I like Brandon Routh a lot. He might not be a leading man and say what you will but he was a great Superman, loved him in Chuck and he does a solid job in the lead role in this film. We all know the character, a jaded, power hungry, rising company star who for whatever reason finds himself forced to return to his roots and find himself in the process. He pulls it off and he's likable and you will root for him. Gil Birmingham does a good as Routh's father and one of the tribal leaders. His role is understated but significant. The beautiful Chelsea Ricketts gives perhaps one of the best performances of the film as the strong willed, sassy Nadie. She is fun and outspoken and just a terrific female lead. Crystal Allen is supposed to be the female romantic lead for Routh's character but she is incredibly underused and the chemistry between them is only slightly sufficient. She is heavily wasted in the film. Michael Hudson plays Reed, probably the most significant character on the team. Him and Rickett's have great chemistry and banter and they should have done more of the romance based on the two of them then Routh and Allen. The rest of the members on the team all play their roles well but they just don't get any opportunity to stand out. Director Steve Rash isn't exactly a first rate director and yet he has had his share of experience and it hasn't all been bad. He does small little cute teen romantic comedies decently well. He brings that style to Crooked Arrows and it works. The reviews for Crooked Arrows all say the same...it is clichéd and it is, there is no doubt about it. But there is certain a niche in the demographic for this type of sport's film and the fact that Lacrosse is a huge major sport that as far as I know has never been done on film and then Native American angle keeps this unique enough to be enjoyable. It won't ever be an award winner but that doesn't make it perfectly entertaining. 8/10

This movie was better than I thought, but its not the best movie about (modern day) Native Americans. Most of the good films are low budget so they are seen by a small audience. This was more mainstream than the others. However it only had a 6 million dollar budget, so that's why the box office didn't go well. They worked well with the budget though. I didn't hate this movie but its not in my top 20 or anything. I wanted to keep watching but I also wanted more to happen. A few lose ends and missed potential. I also don't see why two white actors (Chelsea Ricketts and Brandon Routh) were playing Native Americans. They had a bunch of other real Native Americans in the film. I wasn't steaming mad but it did bother me. At least some people were really Native American. Everyone acted well. Its not a movie I would watch with friends but I do suggest watching it. Also I like that Lacrosse was in a movie.

As a Native American and an avid lacrosse player, I was very anxious and excited to see this movie make the screen. I watched it with my children who love the sport as well, and I have to say that the Crooked Arrow was not only inspiring but extremely fun to watch. Many people today forget the origin of the sport and the great meaning behind it. The producers did an incredible job of keeping its audience on their seat and ready for action. I highly recommend that any child or teen interested in learning the game of lacrosse should watch this movie first. The movie shows what the meaning of team spirit and determination are. Great work to everyone involved with this movie. Especially our Native friends with roles in it.

To the guy who say's it a remake? C'mon... think of all the differences. Gordon misses the big shot for real... but Joe misses on purpose - Gordon gives up hockey and becomes a lawyer... Joe gives up LaCrosse and becomes a Casino Manager - Gordon is doing community service... Joe is just pressured into it. - Gordon shows up for the first couple of practices in a suit, talking on his "car phone"... Joe shows up in a suit and talks on his cell phone. - Gordon gets inspiration to turn it around from old hockey store dude.. Joe gets inspiration from old Indian dude. - Gordon gets his boss to sponsor and gets new equipment... Joe buys the new equipment himself. - The Ducks change their name and logo because of sponsorship... the crooked arrows change theirs because they want to. - Gordon recruits the big scary kid from the alley... Joe recruits his from the forest. - Gordon recruits his best player from another team... Joe just has to convince his best player to play. - Gordon takes his kids to a North Star practice for motivation... Joe takes his on a vision quest. - The duck kids fly through the skyway on roller blades... crooked arrow dudes fly through the forest and there is no roller blades involved. - Gordon's love interest with the players mom is new... Joe already had dated the players mom he falls for. - Gordon's falling out with the team involves players leaving... Joe's falling out involves him leaving. - Gordon quits his job for the sake of the team... Joe just screws over a developer. - Gordon's former team they faces in the championship still has his old coach... Joes former team they face in the championship game does not. - Gordon's former team are called "cake-eaters" by his team because they are rich kids... Joe's former team are not called "cake-eaters" even though they are also rich kids. - Gordon's best player gets hurt due to cheap shot in the big game and doesn't come back... Joe's best player gets hurt due to cheap shot and comes back for the final 20 seconds. - Gordon's captain that makes the big shot against his former team that he missed is the son of his love interest... Joe's captain that makes the big shot against his former team that he missed... is "not" the son of his love interest. The differences are staggering... why one would even see similarity is beyond me.

Joe Logan (Brandon Routh) is a local boy who's trying to make his mark. He wants to negotiate a land deal with a casino owner. In order to make it happen, he must get the agreement from the tribal council. In return he is forced to coach the local Native high school lacrosse team. Brandon Routh has never been one of my favorite actors. Ever since Superman, I have seen nothing but stiff acting from him. In a way, he's perfect for Superman, but he makes a terrible Clark Kent. He's definitely no Christopher Reeve. I'm willing to accept Brandon's limitation here. It's a workable cliché filled family/sports movie. Chelsea Ricketts plays his plucky sister. While he's the coach, she wants to play. Like many sports movie, the final game is too long and too predictable. But it has enough feel good moments to make this work.