Movie Review: 12 Mighty Orphans (2021) on Starz 😥
There are lots of feel-good movies about beleaguered sports teams with the guts and will to win amazing seasons. None are as thrilling as 12 Mighty Orphans. (See movie trailer below.)
That said...
Bittersweet is the film 12 Mighty Orphans, a true story of 12 orphans in pre-Great Depression Texas who play heroic, sport-changing high school football. They beat all but one team till the championship game at the end. Then they hold that team to one goal. With seconds to go...
Orphans also have one goal but no extra point, and they have the ball within scoring range as the clock ticks down to zero. It's a dramatic finish. No spoiler here, you have to see the film to learn the result. I will say my jaw dropped about a foot when I saw it. That's all I'll say.
It was a great film. It had a lot of heart. It was well told. The characters were wonderful—even the really, really, really bad guy, Frank Wynn (played by perennial character actor Wayne Knight) was a delight to watch be full-out evil. Luke Wilson is tremendous as the head coach, Rusty Russell. Martin Sheen is a memorable defensive coach and team doctor, Doc Hall. Good stuff!
What those kids had to put up with in real life was despicable. Rusty Russel, Doc Hall, and their fans lifted their lives. And those kids went on to do great things. All the elements of this true story make this a very watchable film, a remarkable story, a resoundingly great feel-good story. Till the end. Maybe you'll find a reason to like the end better than I did. Maybe it will be the wrap-up titles at the end telling what happens to many of the characters in their later lives.
Give it a try.
Here's the movie trailer via YouTube:
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