We Are Marshall

Based on a real-life tragedy, director McG's We Are Marshall tells the story of the miraculous rebirth of the football team at West Virginia's Marshall University after almost the entire squad and coaching staff (as well as a substantial number of boosters) were killed in a plane crash in November 1970. Although the university president initially plans to shut down the program, one of the few remaining players rallies the students and townspeople, resulting in a search for a new coach that ultimately settles on unlikely candidate Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey), a brash oddball who feels a strong sense of mission to put together a team from virtual scratch and help revive the school and the town. Lengyel recruits untested new players, lobbies the NCAA to allow him to field freshmen, and then molds his young squad into a real team. Although reality-based, this is still, unfortunately, a formulaic story that suffers from the performance of McConaughey (who seems to be doing a weird Woody Harrelson impersonation that feels like a vaudeville routine), as well as a finale that's milked for every last drop of emotion. Optional. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include a 37-minute “Legendary Coaches: How Coaches Overcome Adversity” documentary, a brief “Marshall Now” commercial for the college, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a by-the-numbers sports drama.] (F. Swietek)