JD_Dean

Shooting Stars (2023)

Would rather watch actual Shooting Stars.

Shooting Stars is the movie that Lebron fans don't really need to see. I'd say it's a movie for non basketball fans that are intrigued by his success and want to learn more about his rise via cinematic story telling. For real Lebron fans, they already know the story. For me, I'd rather watch one of those "Shooting Stars in 10 Minutes" YouTube recaps and then watch the very end of the actual movie to see the "where are they now" credits.

I was asked by a friend (Brittany) to watch this movie and give a review. I personally would have passed. After it was over I felt robbed of 2hrs. Damn you Brittany!

The movie begins with the boys in their younger days but doesn't linger too long in this particular era and rightfully so. The child actors were absolutely terrible. It felt as though they were reading their lines off post it notes strategically placed on the set. A bit of a bad first impression.

Luckily Wood Harris was there to soften the blow of bad acting. The presence of Durmot Mulroney and Chad Coleman was a cue for me that all hope was not lost.

I'm always pleased by the acting of Wood Harris. After his role in the Power series, I always look forward to anything he plays in. His role in Shooting Stars as Lil Dru's dad and coach felt complimentary to the younger cast but didn't really hit the mark of his full acting potential until later in the movie.

Durmot Mulroney's role was the typical mid life crisis high school coach and quite frankly was very good and yet somehow underwhelming at the same time in comparison to his other work.

Chad Colman as the rival high schools coach was spot on and although his screen time was relatively short, I enjoyed every moment of his scenes. Truly one of the most unvalued actors of today. We need Colman in more leading roles.

Marquis Cook as Lebron was adequate but boring. Hats off to casting for finding someone who favors Lebron James. Not all black people look alike contrary to what Brittany has said on multiple occasions.

Avery Wills Jr as Willie was played out well when in conjunction with his co stars yet as soon as the scene wasn't about him you forget he exists. No lasting impression from Wills Jr at all.

Khalil Everage as Sian gave us some of the most notable humor and stood out more than Wills and Cook but by no means is this movie funny. Not at all. I'm sure it wasn't intended to be but it's a bit disappointing for my taste because the most memorable movies are the ones that incite emotions that we can connect to the memories.

Caleb McLaughlin who played Lil Dru was the most powerful actor of the 4 and his performance was the life blood of the groups dynamic. As one of the Stars in the hit series Stranger Things, when I first saw him I had high expectations and he delivered. I wouldn't say it was as good as Stranger Things, but it was not bad at all. Another hats off to casting for going with a strong actor over a novice for the sake of resemblance. I'm talking about you cook.

The story line bored me. There didn't really seem to be any real events that took place. At least nothing that moved me. There was no strong laughs. There was no tragedy. It was just a story. I will say that I really loved how the entire movie revolved around all four of the boys rather than just hyper focusing on James the whole time.

Hats off to the writers for that but I'm sure even they were bored writing this. I won't even say they're names because they don't deserve it. The climax of the movie was dull and emotionless. I can't completely blame them because it's a true story so let's just blame LeBron.

Director Chris Robinson did well minus the captions. I understand captions like "October" and "November". Or "3 Years Later" and "Chicago". These are captions that add context to the story and tells us how much time has passed or what city they are in. So what's with the caption "Respect" when two players bump shoulders and look at each other a certain way. This happens all throughout the movie and it's kinda stupid.

It's like they're trying to help us read body language. Between that and the boys using various slang words that did not exist in that time, I give whoever is responsible for this two fat chicken grease covered thumbs down. Super cliche.

Conclusion: It was produced by Lebron James. Big guy with a well deserved big ego but also makes me think there is for sure some bias. I didn't completely hate it, but I do regret watching it and I know for a fact that some of the events are not accurate but I'm only here for the entertainment, not the truth.

The truth is this movie was just not for me. I'm more entertained by watching an actual basketball game rather than a dull story line with a bunch of highlights. It's a well produced movie that has the potential to be great to someone else but I highly doubt it's the type of movie that anyone would watch twice.