WE ARE MARSHALL (2006) 2 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, David Strathairn, Ian McShane, Anthony Mackie, Kate Mara, January Jones, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Brian Geraghty. Story by Corey Helms and Jamie Linden. Screenplay by Jamie Linden. Directed by McG. Rated PG. Running time: 127 minutes.

       
Sports and clichés go together like football and tailgating.

        It's how you present them that either allows you to score with an audience of throws you for a loss.

        In We Are Marshall, director McG fails to make six points, but he does break through for some good yardage.

        The movie is based on one of the blackest days in sports history, the Nov. 14, 1970, crash outside Huntington, W.Va., that killed 75 people including most of the Marshall University football team, the coaching staff and many prominent boosters and townspeople.

        The film does not dwell on the crash itself, but rather focuses on the inspiring story of the rebuilding of the shattered Thundering Herd program as well as its effect on helping the city move past the tragedy.

        And while the movie is uplifting, McG shamelessly tugs at your heartstrings. Subtlety is a word not in this director's vocabulary. The odd thing is, the story is so powerful that you don't really object to McG's methodology.

        Using a driving soundtrack of late ‘60s and early ‘70s songs, We Are Marshall plays like an elongated uplifting music video.

        McG has gathered a strong cast, including Matthew McConaughey, Lost's Matthew Fox, Oscar-nominee David Strathairn, Anthony Mackie and Golden Globe-winner Ian McShane.

        While Fox shows a heretofore untapped maturity and resolve as Red Dawson, the assistant coach whose last-minute decision to skip the flight for a recruiting trip doubtlessly saved his life, McConaughey is all mugging and mannerisms as Jake Lengyel, the new head coach who takes on the responsibility of rebuilding the football team.

        Fox's Dawson is a man conflicted; wracked with survivor's guilt, he accepts the job of helping Lengyel resurrect the team, but finds no joy in his work.

        As Lengyel, McConaughey sports a bravado, an air of optimism that hides his uncertainty about the daunting job he faces.

        Among the cast, Mackie stands out as Nate Ruffin who, like Dawson, missed the flight because an injury kept him from the game on that fateful day. And like Dawson, he bears the scars of guilt.

        However, Ruffin feels the best way to honor his teammates and coaches is to continue the football program.

        It is through his actions of rallying the freshmen players and Marshall student body that the program is given new life.

        Mackie's performance is intense and inspirational.

        McShane is wasted as a university trustee who's son, a player, was among those killed. He opposes rebuilding the program so soon after the tragedy. Basically, McShane just mopes around on the fringes.

        The movie contains the usual formulaic scenes — most notably, the music-driven montage of the team practicing.

        You wish that McG had cut back on the theatrics and made a more intimate feature.

        Nevertheless, We Are Marshall is a movie that you can't help but like. It brings a lump to your throat, a tear to your eye and a cheer to your voice.

Bob Bloom is the film critic and DVD reviewer at the Journal & Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at serialhero48@yahoo.com. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal & Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com.