Damn, this was a positive surprise for sure. These Disney sports movies used to be quite good at their best. Not sure their level is the same today as Disney is much more political and way more careful on what they allow in movies. You can find quite a few great ones from years ago at least. This is one of the good ones for sure. The movie making here alone is enough to make it a recommended watch. Honestly even if you hate baseball and hate the story you will appreciate just how much work went into every single scene. Every camera movement, even action, every plot point is carefully selected and constructed. It's seldom you see a movie where this much care and energy went into it. No one shouts at anyone in the movie. It's not cheap drama. The movie is just: old man throws a really fast ball.
Now, the movie is quite slow-paced compared to more child friendly Disney movies. This one is for adults mainly or those few kids without ADHD. It's a carefully constructed, very realistic drama. It never gets crazy or wild. Even the big scenes are subdued and realistic and lack the emotional punch you expect from Disney movies. You have diaper changing scenes, getting food scenes, coaching kids, buying socks, looking at a stadium. It all adds to the movie and makes it feel like something much bigger than a random baseball movie. On the other hand it does feel a bit slow. The runtime is over 2 hours and unfortunately the story itself is not a huge one. It's just a 35 year old man who got into the American baseball league. So we see his road there and how his family reacts. He seemingly only played 2 seasons and didn't do much. So it's a curious story, but since it's a small one you do feel the lack of tension and importance. Compare it to American Underdog (2021) about Kurt Warner who is a legend in American football. He also got a terrible start. After many years of working in a supermarket for basically no money and playing low level alternative style football he finally got his chance in NFL and as his team's quarterback got injured right away he became a starter out of nowhere and had pretty much a perfect end to the season winning Superbowl and then continued playing on this level becoming a legend of the game and the best undrafted player ever. I don't watch either sport, but I know what story makes me super excited. One athlete got 2 seasons at 35 and did nothing. The other was only in his late 20's, but that's a story that's truly magical. Of course while American Underdog is a truly impressive movie quality wise it's not much about NFL. NFL is just the last 10 minutes of the movie at most. It's largely about his girlfriend who he is still dating to this day and with whom he made the movie. So both movies have their weak sides. But American Underdog was a historical experience that made me learn about this huge story. While this movie is just a good Disney movie.
The Rookie is about the love for baseball. We get to see how his dad is not really supporting him in his baseball career and he kinda fades away due to injuries. His wife also doesn't want him to go on the road as they can barely afford to get by. The wife drama is honestly a bit dry as you already know what will happen. It's fine, but we kinda already know what this "wife doesn't want husband to do his sport/work" implies in movies as this is used in most such sport movies to create cheap drama. The kids being there meanwhile add to his baseball. You really feel like they support him and at the same time complicate this trip. Meanwhile his dad relationship is mirrored in how he treats his oldest son who follows the team he coaches very eagerly. So everything with the dad is proper and deep drama where they don't need to say anything. You can feel everything from how they look at each other and how they act. This tension is sky high. In American Underdog they did a similar thing with the romantic relationship. There is a scene where they break up as they are just angry at each other because of their bad situation and lack of trust. That's it. There is no clear reason for it. They just break up out of nowhere. And it feels real as it's not a movie scene. Stuff happens and we watch it happen which is a greater level of cinema. Which The Rookie archives half the time. Overall the story is just not that fascinating unless you follow baseball or maybe are a dad and want to watch a movie about a dad. For us mortals it's good, but just a tad below great. Dennis Quaid was also 47 when he played a 34 year old man. Which is noticeable too.
Now, the movie is quite slow-paced compared to more child friendly Disney movies. This one is for adults mainly or those few kids without ADHD. It's a carefully constructed, very realistic drama. It never gets crazy or wild. Even the big scenes are subdued and realistic and lack the emotional punch you expect from Disney movies. You have diaper changing scenes, getting food scenes, coaching kids, buying socks, looking at a stadium. It all adds to the movie and makes it feel like something much bigger than a random baseball movie. On the other hand it does feel a bit slow. The runtime is over 2 hours and unfortunately the story itself is not a huge one. It's just a 35 year old man who got into the American baseball league. So we see his road there and how his family reacts. He seemingly only played 2 seasons and didn't do much. So it's a curious story, but since it's a small one you do feel the lack of tension and importance. Compare it to American Underdog (2021) about Kurt Warner who is a legend in American football. He also got a terrible start. After many years of working in a supermarket for basically no money and playing low level alternative style football he finally got his chance in NFL and as his team's quarterback got injured right away he became a starter out of nowhere and had pretty much a perfect end to the season winning Superbowl and then continued playing on this level becoming a legend of the game and the best undrafted player ever. I don't watch either sport, but I know what story makes me super excited. One athlete got 2 seasons at 35 and did nothing. The other was only in his late 20's, but that's a story that's truly magical. Of course while American Underdog is a truly impressive movie quality wise it's not much about NFL. NFL is just the last 10 minutes of the movie at most. It's largely about his girlfriend who he is still dating to this day and with whom he made the movie. So both movies have their weak sides. But American Underdog was a historical experience that made me learn about this huge story. While this movie is just a good Disney movie.
The Rookie is about the love for baseball. We get to see how his dad is not really supporting him in his baseball career and he kinda fades away due to injuries. His wife also doesn't want him to go on the road as they can barely afford to get by. The wife drama is honestly a bit dry as you already know what will happen. It's fine, but we kinda already know what this "wife doesn't want husband to do his sport/work" implies in movies as this is used in most such sport movies to create cheap drama. The kids being there meanwhile add to his baseball. You really feel like they support him and at the same time complicate this trip. Meanwhile his dad relationship is mirrored in how he treats his oldest son who follows the team he coaches very eagerly. So everything with the dad is proper and deep drama where they don't need to say anything. You can feel everything from how they look at each other and how they act. This tension is sky high. In American Underdog they did a similar thing with the romantic relationship. There is a scene where they break up as they are just angry at each other because of their bad situation and lack of trust. That's it. There is no clear reason for it. They just break up out of nowhere. And it feels real as it's not a movie scene. Stuff happens and we watch it happen which is a greater level of cinema. Which The Rookie archives half the time. Overall the story is just not that fascinating unless you follow baseball or maybe are a dad and want to watch a movie about a dad. For us mortals it's good, but just a tad below great. Dennis Quaid was also 47 when he played a 34 year old man. Which is noticeable too.