More Than a Game

Many people probably watched "More Than a Game" for LeBron James. I admit that that was A reason for me, but not THE reason. Fourteen years prior to this movie I watched "Hoop Dreams" about a couple of high school basketball players. "Hoop Dreams" was a better documentary and it didn't have the benefit of of a LeBron James. So, I still would've watched "More Than a Game" regardless of the name of the athlete featured. "More Than a Game" was an interesting contrast to two other basketball documentaries I watched: "Hoop Dreams" and "Hoop Reality." "Hoop Dreams" had two players who never realized their dreams. "Hoop Reality" featured Patrick Beverly who made it to the NBA even if he's not a household name. "More Than a Game" featured a person who not only realized his hoop dream, but also became a mega-star. I remember when I first heard all the LeBron James talk in early 2003. I didn't pay a lot of attention to it, but it's significant because I live in California. To be hearing about a high school basketball player all the way here in California means that he was a big deal. "More Than a Game" chronicles that as well as less headline making news from his younger years. I like documentaries in general, so I'd recommend it anyway. And for you basketball fans, and especially for you LeBron fans, this is a must.

Watched this last night Loved it. Fits this Holiday season. So many things: Hope, Adversity, Work, Love, Giving, Pain, Recommitment, Caring, Sharing, Learning, Joy Memories of being a single mom. Life is Good💫 Happy Holidays

It's 2003. LeBron James, Dru Joyce III, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton, and Willie McGee are preparing to play the National Championship Game. The documentary takes a look at these five teenagers in Akron, Ohio growing up and rising up to be one of the best high school teams. They were a shoe-string unknown team playing in the AAU tournaments with teams from across the country. In 1999, they lost the championship game by two points on a final miss by LeBron. LeBron is the future NBA star dubbed the Chosen One. Dru is the undersized kid with a chip on his shoulder. Romeo is the angry addition in the sophomore year. Dru Joyce II takes over after their coach abandons them for a college job. This is more or less for fans of LeBron. It has his cooperation. It's mostly basketball with some personal revelations. The most important aspect seems to be their close-knit friendship and loyalty of belonging to the group. It has some insights and drama even for non-fans of LeBron. It doesn't really have anything too dramatic with the exception of LeBron's suspension. More than anything, this is about LeBron's nature and his connection to his home town.

Loved this documentary. The way the community helped the James family was inspiring and so was his giving nature, never say die attitude on and off the court. Watching a promising high schooler turning into the GOAT in real time is incredible. Ms Gloria has an incredible spirit as well. Kids can learn a lot from this documentary.

Remembering Michael Jordan is feeling no player in basketball history could ever approach his skill and charisma. The smooth documentary More Than a Game offers the possibility that Le Bron James is everything Jordan was and maybe more. Yet it succeeds in deflecting James' glory by showing how his "Fab Five," as they called themselves at Akron's St. Vincent, St. Mary's in Ohio, overcame difficulties to become national champions. Although the documentary follows the usual arc of win, lose, win for sports stories, similar to Hoop Dreams, I had satisfaction that I witnessed a phenomenon of history—a team that survived briefly without James(who later won a court decision to be reinstated), qualified for the nationals, lost the national championship only to come back the next year victorious. Clichéd as that might be, it's interesting history. The impact of media coverage, especially the growing awareness of James's transcendent talent, is never fully explored in favor of spreading the story amongst the five star players and coach. Because James is a producer of this film, it's easy to see how it slides over the controversies such as his mother's financing a Hummer for him. There may be other more egregious acts, yet it's hard not to like the self-effacing star, even harder to discount the emotional challenges facing a coach who must coach his own son. Indeed the story of Coach Dru Joyce is every bit as interesting as that of the players, neophyte as he was to coaching basketball and with his son in the starting lineup. This is where director Kristopher Belman is at his best as he carefully reveals the difficulties such a situation brings. The sly comment about James at the end of the obligatory "what happened to whom" may be the best indicator that as manipulative as this doc may be, it has a sense of humor about a serious sports story.

If you know or care anything about high school hoops on a national level, there's one stretch of the truth that will jump out at you near the end of this movie -- that being the assertion that St. Vincent-St. Mary is playing in a national championship game in what was the senior season for LeBron James and the rest of the "Fab 4/5". Of course, there is no national championship game for high school hoops, at least, not like there is in college. LeBron and his crew won the Division II Ohio state championship as seniors, then would have had to be voted national champs in one or more polls. And I don't remember if they were consensus national champs; since it's all done by polls, it's possible one or more polls had some other team as its national champ that season. Maybe that only means something to me because I'm a basketball fan. For everyone else it probably suffices to say that this is an entertaining film, if a bit thin on details and questionable at times in its accuracy. As basketball documentaries go, More Than A Game can't hold Hoop Dream's jock, but seeing action clips of LeBron as a youngsta make it worth the rental. One last basketball junkie point: For my tastes the film makers should have gone into more detail about the LeBron-Carmelo Anthony HS matchup. It's glossed over a bit in this film so you don't get the sense of what a battle that game was between two good teams and two future NBA stars (36-8-5 and six steals for LeBron, 34-11-2 for Carmelo). Nor is it emphasized that LeBron and St. Vincent-St. Mary lost the game.

is there More in this movie? And I thought 'Real Shaolin' was average. This exceeded my lows of TIFF08 on a documentary. The "catch" of this one is of course Lebron. And they do have a story about the team and the life long friends he played with. But it's basically a story - plot together like the Hooser movie, with videos and home movies added with current interviews and looking backs. Mind you there is message, loud and clear and lebron is NOT the main reason behind this doc - which I suspect as much and applaud the decision. But I thought the director would have had a deeper inside look ???? A story could have been 45min... but told in 1.45?

I was told to watch this documentary for my screen writing class. I must say, horrible, horrible movie. All around, one of the worst things I could have watched. I must admit that I am not a big sports fan, but there are many sports movies and documentaries that I do really enjoy. But those films had, well, a story to them. I know what writer/director Kristopher Belman was thinking. 'Let's just throw a bunch of crap together and star LeBron in it and it'll sell big. Hell, it worked for the Justin Bieber documentary!' I don't know who's rating this movie so high... It's insane. More than a Game is a movie starring LeBron James during his high school years, and some other unmemorable, annoyingly cocky basketball players who just dominate everyone they play basketball against in. Then, of course, they get to play in the national championship game. As a side note, to captivate us as a movie audience, we need to cheer for an underdog in movies. Movies such as Miracle, Rocky, Rudy, The Mighty Ducks, Major League, Warrior, etc, were all movies about the underdog and out-heart the competition. It's what makes a movie enjoyable! No one cheered for the overly cocky champ Apollo Creed in Rocky. No one cheered for the Russians in Miracle. I don't even think the Russians did! As an added bonus, we get to hear each of the kids struggles of growing up in the ghetto, and their courage to keep playing basketball against all odds. I'm not sure if anyone cares about that, because I sure do not. Maybe I'm heartless, but these guys make it so easy to cheer for their opposition. There really is not one good quality I could find in any of these kids, besides not being crack addicts. But if they were, I'm sure this film would be much more enjoyable. I gave this movie a 2 out of 10 simply because I got to watch the whole thing in one sitting without jabbing my eyes out of my skull. Though i was quite tempted. Only the biggest LeBron fans will enjoy this movie. Don't waste your time.

To be honest, one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. A truly feel good movie. I'd heard about Lebron James, but never really knew much about him. Then my son and me watched the movie. To say it was inspiring (especially for the little guy) would be a gross understatement. The best part of the movie was finding out that Lebron became who he is today, because of a small group of people that became his extended family. As a parent, and a fellow human being, its hard not to have tears well up at the end of this one, because we all want to be loved. They all found that love - in each other. The side effect was an amazing basketball story.

This documentary follows Lebron James(NBA superstar) and childhood friends....from the earliest part of his life. From grade school friends, to youth travel ball, to playing at St Mary's High School, to being drafted in the NBA. When four tight buddies become five...off the court as well. Almost a biopic...but not. Amazing what an Akron-Native with time and a camera could accomplish following around "King James". Although this film follows a professional basketball players rise to fame, it is more about the friendships and loyalty involved in the process. You can't become a star without having trust and faith in others around you. Turns into a great study of professional athletes, what it takes at all ages, but also the emotion and friendships that shape the human....we fail to look at these stars as normal guys like ourselves...and we shouldn't. You will understand just who and what they are through movies like this.