Forever Strong (2008) User Reviews (54)

Here's the deal

[jayama22 · 7/10 · 13 July 2009]

As a former Highland Rugby(HR) player, I feel like I can possibly answer some of the questions and confusion that has been put forward. I think that I am also in a position to offer some insight into the club and back stories. Oh, and this is gonna be a long post, I can tell already.

First off, the people who said that the movie doesn't show real rugby, have a valid point. The movie is full of bad tackles, people in the wrong places, and much much more. If you want to know what a real rugby game feels like, you won't get the best idea from this movie. But the thing is, anything short of actually sitting down and watching a highlight reel or jumping into a game yourself, is not going to be satisfactory. It's Hollywood, not ESPN! Really, how many sports movies really make you feel like you are in the game? Not many that I have seen. I think it's important to keep in mind that the movie is about rugby players, much more than it is about rugby.

Next, the Haka is VERY much a part of Highland Rugby. It is not something that they just threw into the movie. To be honest, I don't know how the tradition got started, but Highland emulates the All Blacks in many ways. The uniform is based off of the All Blacks as well. The movie did not do a good job of explaining the origins of the Haka, and to be honest, I don't think that that is right. But I can tell you that every member of the team knows exactly where it comes from and what it means. As for the person from China(?) who said that only a Maori can perform a Haka, I would suggest that they take a look at the All Blacks and tell me if they think that they are all Maori. Believe it or not, Utah has a very large Polynesian community, and a good portion of them like and play rugby for the local teams. I, myself am part Hawaiian. Whenever possible, the Haka is led by a Maori. The team does not do it because they think that they are Maori, they do it because of some of the issues shown in the movie. The concept of unity and "those who have gone before" is a huge part of the HR culture, and the message behind the Haka, for any of those that are familiar with it, support those values. It's a chant by a chief who thought he would die (Ka Mate), and those around him supporting him telling him he will live (Ka Ora) and boosting him up. How appropriate it is for a bunch of white boys to do it is not for me to say, but that is the ideology behind it and why it is done. "Kia Kaha" is also a well used team motto, even if the actors had a hard time saying it.

Also, for the people who questioned Highland's Rugby playing ability, I would just remind you that you were not really watching Highland play in this movie. Many of the extras were former players from Highland and other teams, but the main characters were all actors. Believe it or not, Highland really is pretty good at what they do and pretty well respected in the international community. Granted, some years produce better teams than others (it's what you would expect with any sports team), but you don't accumulate HR's win record by just being okay. The year after I graduated, (1998) Highland was one of 12 teams to be invited to the World Schools Rugby Championship in Zimbabwe. The teams were hand picked from around the world and represented the best of High school rugby talent at the time. Highland obviously didn't win first place, (New Zealand did that), but they did manage to take third place in the tournament, beating the Tongan national champions in their last match. And while American rugby may never reach the level of talent that New Zealand or South Africa has, third in the world is also nothing to hang your head about. Highland also has a tradition of touring New Zealand every few years, and usually comes back with more wins than losses.

The majority of characters portrayed in this movie are based off of real people and real stories. I watched this movie with my brothers, who also played for Highland, and between the four of us, we were fairly certain that we were able to identify ALMOST every main character. Nobody knew a white Rasta. Of course as this wasn't a documentary, Hollywood did take some liberties, but to tell you the truth, not as many as you might think. The film was actually pretty accurate in showing the 2 and a half hour daily practices, as well as the mandatory personal running and weight training. Sometimes it really was running until you threw up. It also showed the service and other team activities (like the chuck-a-rama buffet) that were very much a part of team bonding.

And finally the movie, in my (obviously very biased) opinion, it was a pretty good movie. And I think that the reason for it is that I watched it as an inspirational sports movie. I didn't think that it would be a pure rugby movie or an academy award winning drama. It was just an uplifting movie about a rugby team, complete with morals, encouragement, and a good dose of jokes thrown in for entertainment. I hope that I addressed some of the problems that people have had with the movie, and hope that you can now enjoy it for what it was.

Kia Kaha

"This film has heart"

[d_suliafu · 8/10 · 24 May 2008]

Like most sports movies which have come out in the past, this movie is similar in respects, that it is based on fact. What sets this movie apart is that its about a rugby team, a sport that not too many Americans are familiar with. Set that aside, this movie is very rewarding piece of film noir. It reminds me of "We Are Marshall" , but with a smaller budget and an independent movie feel. Its a fine effort by director Ryan Little to bring us a story about a rebellious teen played by Sean Farris (Never Back Down), as Rick Penning that finds himself in an odd place, both on and off the field. Despite a few plot lines holes, this film has heart, rewarding each of its viewers with good characters that we can identify with. Also good performances by supporting actors Gary Cole as coach Larry Gelwix & Neal McDonough as coach Penning(Ricks dad). I felt myself go through a lot of different emotions watching movie, in the end I was left with a feeling of faith in mankind & a hope for the future for my children, especially if there are coaches out there like Gelwix.

All good! Must see!

[a_viona · 8/10 · 6 December 2009]

I just watched it last night and it was great.I can see why some ppl have ill feelings towards it from a rugby fan and maori culture point of view but other than that I have no idea what's so negative about it. The movie is great. It has a lot of heart. Very inspiring and encouraging to all ages. Great family movie! They did a pretty good job considering that it was a budget movie. I love movies based on true stories/events. I was raised around rugby all my life, it is a great game but I was never really taken to it because (please forgive me if I offend anyone, nothing personal this is just how I saw it) I thought, their trainings are not as ruthless or hard, the players are not as disciplined and don't seemed as serious like other sportmen and it looked like it's all just muscle and blooming tackling each other etc. But after watching Forever strong, I was like, wow! I was proud! It did good things for rugby (well it changed my view of rugby) and also the New Zealnd Haka. I actually cried. I am not even New Zealander and I was proud of their culture. Didn't even know what the chant meant until this movie. The movie is NOT about rugby techniques or rugby, it's not even about New Zealand All Blacks or the Haka or etc......Mother of pearls!!!!! hahaha SHUX!

So to all you beautiful negative ppl, You are missing the point! I am sure if they had the means, it would have been better, the haka is in there because that was part of Highland Rugby culture, tradition or what ever you want to call it.

So any new members on this site such as myself, please don't be put off by those negative comments. See it for yourself! Must see movie! There is a lot you can learn from this movie, ppl of all ages. It definitely makes you want to be a better person and be humble! This movie reminded me of a lot of things that I already know and was raised with but I kinda lost along the way! Loved it! Happy reading ppls and All the best!

Muawha!

Excellent movie based on actual events!

[berbert-home · 10/10 · 28 September 2008]

First of all, I know almost nothing about rugby, so although I found the rugby-aspect of this movie to be interesting it could have been any sport and I think I would have enjoyed it just as much. The fact that it as about rugby didn't make it any better or worse for me.

What made this movie great is the story itself, based on actual events that have occurred over the last 30 years with the Highland Rugby club. Coach Gelwix is the kind of coach that most every parent would like their children to have, someone who cares more about the person than the sport (even though they have won 17 national championships and have only lost 9 games in over 30 years!). The more I have learned about the coach and team the more I like this movie and its message.

I have seen other sports movies that seemed great at first, but then I researched the details only to find that most of those movies were 10% fact and 90% fiction, with the 10% of facts being greatly exaggerated. Not so with Forever Strong. It may seem too good to be true, but that's what's so amazing about it. If it were fiction it would just be an enjoyable story and nothing more. Instead, the movie is inspirational and makes you want to be a better person.

Don't miss this movie because of a few negative reviews by professional critics. I have been reading some of their reviews and most of them have given the movie horrible reviews. These are generally the same critics who rave about movies that most people hate. In fact, I would be worried if some of these critics had given the movie good reviews because I almost always disagree with their opinions.

Go see this movie and post your review (positive or negative)! Currently most of the audience reviews are enthusiastically positive (here and on Rotten Tomatoes and similar sites), and I am interested to see if this trend continues. Thanks!

How did Hollywood ruin rugby with this movie?

[mcsand8 · 28 May 2009]

schoepeo commented that "Hollywood ruined rugby". I don't know where or when you played rugby, but 2 of my sons played high school rugby in Arizona for a coach from New Zealand that played at the collegiate level and this movie represented high school rugby at it's best! The Flagstaff team represented the local Arizona Highland High School team that was known for it's illegal tackles and attempts to cheat and play gutter rugby. The Highland team represented my sons' team which played at a high level of integrity and grit. The rugby scenes reminded me of the many games I went to and videotaped for the team. The Hakka reminded me of the joy in my sons' eyes as they participated in it prior to each game. The hits, flips, crushes, etc. reminded me of the many bloody shirts I washed weekly for the team. The coach and his integrity, work ethic, rugby drills (including running with another player on your back - my sons' coach had them run UPHILL), and sense of giving back to the community reminded me of my sons' coach. This movie TRULY represented high school rugby and if it's not what you have experienced, you've missed the best rugby has to offer!

It's a movie not a rugby documentary

[rab_black · 7/10 · 2 September 2009]

Now before people start having a breakdown about this movie (those who play rugby anyway) this is a film! It's been given the Hollywood treatment to entertain people and therefore those who play rugby (myself included) are naturally gonna pick holes in the choreography of the game in the film. Althogether it is a decent film and bring to the attention the morals and ideas behind the game of rugby.

The film is based on a real team, a real coach and his work helping guide kids in the right direction to be better people in the future, and also is based on real people who have played for the highland team. Its just a typical sports movie with a character who is misguided and eventually finds his way on the right track again through the rugby medium in this case. Is generally a feel good movie that is enjoyable but has flaws in terms of it's portrayal of the game. however, like i said it is a film under the Hollywood treatment.

Touching redemption story with good sports action

[matowakita · 9/10 · 17 August 2009]

I think a several of America's baseball movies are among the best movies ever made. When this movie was in production and heard it described as a rugby movie. I'd read about the Highland team in the newspapers, but didn't have high expectations for this film about a sport that didn't interest me.

Last night I viewed it "on-demand" and loved it almost as much as my favorite baseball movies. Ryan Little and the cast and crew did an amazing job. Neil McDonough was especially convincing. As the "bad dad" he displayed fine range and a subtle, but moving character arc.

I also enjoyed the Pacific Islander actors. I've been fortunate to know many of these fine people and this film captures their wonderful spirit and culture. A flashback showing how the Islander culture became such a key element of Highland's team would have been a excellent addition to the film.

Some pretty tacky movies have been shot in Utah recently. It's good to see a quality film like this from the Beehive State.

A good movie for the US

[maurice8 · 6/10 · 28 April 2009]

Don't be put off by the negative comments about the movie made by people who claim to really 'know' rugby. This is a film which deals with people who happen to play rugby and the essence is those relationships, watch it you'll enjoy it.

On the rugby front, it is also exposure for a great game and once again don't be put off by some of the crass statements made by some commentators here about that game.

The modern game of rugby is an incredibly skillful and dynamic sport and should the USA embrace the game more extensively it will reach the top flight in the global game. A movie like this will help, but what will not help is immature statements by mediocre players wanting to be seen as tough guys - parents will not support their kids in a sport of thugs. Real modern rugby is not about that, it is about athleticism and excellence in playing the sport.

You gotta see it!!!

[whynotand1 · 10/10 · 15 December 2007]

Forever strong is one of those sports movies you can actually watch. It reminded me a lot of Remember the Titans because it included comedy, sadness, and just awesomeness. I saw it at a pre-screening and all my friends liked it and easily put it in their top 2 sport movies. The acting is great in the movie. Even though it is similar to Remember the Titans it there is something very unique about this movie. I feel this is definitely Oscar worthy and will receive many awards. Everybody should definitely go see this movie and it is worth your $10. I'm going to have to see it again when it comes out because it was that good. I cant say one bad thing about the movie.

Dissenters missed the point (and some context)

[dmezy · 7/10 · 11 November 2009]

First, let's call this movie what it is:

1. It's a feel-good movie with a message.

2. The acting is just okay, dialog slightly better, production value pretty good.

3. Rugby scenes...just barely passable.

But here's the trick: this isn't something Hollywood contrived, and it isn't trying to be a ferociously accurate portrayal of the sport. It is instead a pretty good representation of mostly real people, in real circumstances, and a real storyline. Sure, they could have done a better job actually rep'ing the sport, but my vote: it does a pretty good job at what it sets out to do.

(And fwiw, I can't think of many football, baseball, hockey or soccer movies that are true to the sport either. C'mon...Bull Durham?)

I'm not a rugby player (I was a wrestler) but I graduated from Highland, attended '86-'90, and occasionally trained with the Rugby guys. My brother-in-law David, however, was one of the original founding members of the Highland Rugby Club in 1976. (His younger brother, Billy, played the next year, as I recall. If you're interested, there's a Highland Rugby site at highlandrugby.net that addresses the history of the team.)

By the time I was there the club had been in existence for about a decade, and had long since built a reputation for excellence. It's a fact that they focused on "broad" training topics: devotion, honor, discipline, effort, not tactics. I thought the rugby guys I knew were a little 'off' in the head, but I think I might have just been a little jealous. They were hard-core dedicated to the belief system that Gelwix promoted.

With regard to the "cultural mixing" issues that have been brought up, it might be interesting to note that while I was there in the 80's, one of the larger schools in the city was shut down - South High School - and its students distributed among the other 3 primary SLC schools. To be honest, Highland pre-80's was pretty whitebread...I've got a picture of the team from (I think) 1977 that shows an *all* white club. South High, on the other hand, was a much more racially integrated school before it closed: I had a pair of friends from South who joined the team, one Tongan, one Samoan, and as I recall there were a bunch of Island-nation players that joined up '88-'90. I don't think anyone questioned the credibility of the team in adopting Maori (or other cultural) traditions: if there was one thing that was obvious about these guys, it's that they walked the walk.

And as to the strength of the team when compared to the best highschool-age teams in the world: yeah, it's true that US-Rugby, on average when taken as a whole, does not represent particularly well against the best elsewhere. There are exceptions, but hey - it's a simple fact that Rugby doesn't have the prominence or exposure needed to develop the multiple traditions of excellence in the US that arise in other countries.

With that said, judge Highland on its merits:

• the *only* team to qualify for the USA Rugby National Championships every year of that organizations' 25-yr history.

• a win record of 392 wins, 9 losses. Read that again...winningest coach in any US sport in history.

• regular international tours.

• some compelling wins against some legitimate international teams.

Are they the world best? Maybe some years, probably not most...but they're pretty good on a consistent basis. And it's disrespectful to the game to blow them off, when Highland Rugby may be the best ambassador to the sport in the US.

They bastardized rugby!

[14630087 · 3/10 · 23 May 2009]

First off just let me say that I live in South Africa where rugby is our biggest sport by far, and our national side, the Springboks, have won the Rugby World Cup twice, so it's quite a big deal over here. I've played all my life and I'm shocked at the poor attention to detail in this movie! At first I thought it had the potential to be a great movie considering the cast of Neal McDonough, Nick Ferris, Gary Cole and Sean Astin for goodness sake, but it turned out to be a mockery of the sport. They basically mashed it together with your normal everyday American Football movie.

My first problem is that this movie supposedly captures the values of rugby, but the discipline or should I say the total lack thereof during the games are contradictory to this. In the final it looks more like an NFL game with Penning being tackled of the ball numerous times, in front of the referee...that would've immediately led to a couple of red cards, because foul play like that would never go unpunished in by a referee, of that I can assure you! You'd also not be able to find a coach in world rugby who would have so little control over his team. Any coach would take a dump on a players head if he intentionally stiff arms an opposing player or double teams him like they did in the final...red card and certain suspension, full stop.

Secondly, it's absurd that a coach would take a brand new player, who has played wing all of his life I gather, move him to hooker which is a highly specialized position and say that it's for the good of the TEAM?! What?! Hooker is a highly specialized position in the front row where you have to be able to scrum extremely well and preferably be able to throw the ball in at line-out time, which Penning NEVER does for some or other reason. By moving a wing to hooker without any extensive long term training it would firstly lead to your team's demise at scrum time & secondly the poor kid would probably break his neck! How is that good for the team I ask you? Finally, the overall high emotional pitch of the movie is way too much, because even though rugby is a great sport, and it builds great friendships & team spirit, it rarely gets that out of hand & corny. I've seen true-life football drama's with less emotion than this movie & it turned out great, but in this one Sean's (Penning) acting skills is dragged way too far and the movie attempts too force an emotional response out of the audience, which ends up being boring and hard to watch at times.

Hollywood have made some great sports movies over the years, but next time they venture into a sport which has just recently picked up in the states, they should try and do their homework & maybe get some experts into the fray.

DO IT RIGHT OR DON'T DO IT AT ALL!

Inspirational and Definitely Worth Seeing

[sirmichaelot · 10/10 · 27 September 2008]

My family truly enjoyed this movie. As far as what this movie will do for Rugby in the USA...well I am sure that will be debatable. But as for me and others around me, I know that we were more curious about the sport after seeing the movie and I personally gained more respect for the game. You may wonder how this possible, especially since the movie does not dive in and explain Rugby. But the simple fact is it drew you into the players and emotion of the game and life. The film was inspirational as well as entertaining. It made us laugh and cry. The chemistry between Sean Astin, Big Budah and Sean Faris worked well. Some may think the movie is a little cliché, but I seriously wish Hollywood made more movies like this. I couldn't help drawing analogies of the game and life's struggles. At the end of it I found myself examining my own life to see what I needed to do better, in order to be the best person I could be. Honestly I was grateful this movie taught morals, values and teamwork, there is so much to the contrary. After watching this I really hope my kids are coached by someone who has a philosophy like Coach Gelwix.

Real-life, good film for character and values

[bobshankjr-2 · 7/10 · 7 September 2010]

Having recently watched Clint Eastwood's 2009 US release of 'Invictus' (Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon et al) about how newly-installed President Nelson Mandella used the game of rugby at it's World Championship level to unite a badly torn South Africa in the 1990s, I was also inspired by this little-known independent film by Ryan Little on a smaller scale. I was glad to see the results were drawn-on and created-from real-life events (BTW, it is NOT a 'Hollywood production' as so many of you have incorrectly stated). It's a small budget film with credible actors who had the courage and took the time to portray this compilation of real events. If you didn't care for the 'accuracy' on the rugby field, the pregame Maori chants or actor flaws you're too narrowly focused and missed the whole point of the film. Shame on you. IMHO, it displayed exactly what it was intended to do - a depiction of the rehabilitation of wayward young men through the supreme efforts required in an extremely rugged sport ('...soccer's for kids, football's for wuss's, rugby's for men' - remember the line?). I was impressed with the efforts of all concerned to show it's possible to make directional - and good - changes in one's life through hard effort, intra-personal inspection, team unity and a willingness to listen to gentle and persistent instruction from those wiser than you. I genuinely enjoyed the film. And this one, and 'Invictus', have given me a totally new appreciation for the sport of rugby; I'm learning more as I study it and am looking forward to watching my first 'live' game. I'm thinking I could become a real fan...beats the heck out of lame US football.

Predictability ruined it

[quentintarantinojr · 2/10 · 1 October 2009]

This movie, like so many others (Remember the Titans, Miracle), follows the basic sports-movie formula: There's a guy, he's a jerk. Jerk does bad. Jerk must play by someone else's rules. Someone else's rules change Jerk, Jerk becomes good. Insert tragedy (Death, drugs, riots, etc.). Tragedy effects Jerk, makes him totally change. Jerk must now play championship game. Lots of close-ups on the sweating players and the balls. Jerk wins. Quote from coach or news or something that explains title. Credits. Weren't you touched? These movies can now be used to sort out the morons of society. Anyone who pays to see this in theatres must be slapped.

VERY positive message for our youth

[guillo-1 · 9/10 · 28 September 2008]

A very positive message for our youth is shown in this movie. Through the sport of rugby as a mean, a High School rugby coach leads his players in their behavior and lifestyle, ON and OFF the field.

The acting and directing are good. The rugby shots are just OK if you know some rugby or really cool if don't know much about it.

I recommend this movie, worth watching, especially at a point in time when this sport is gaining more and more adepts every day.

The plot is based on a true story taking place in Utah. The coach portrayed in this movie has been at the helm of the Highlanders for over 30 years (and loosing only game every 3 years).

Enjoy!

Inspirational story of a young man who turns his life around though rugby.

[TxMike · 17 February 2011]

Sean Faris (not related to Anna Faris) is Rick Penning, spoiled and popular athlete in high school. One night, drinking, he loses control of his car, wrecks, and his girlfriend is badly injured and her face scarred. He ends up in a juvenile facility in Utah.

A key staff member at the facility is Sean Astin as Marcus Tate who mentors Rick and works it out to allow him to join a local rugby team. Back home he is accustomed to being the star and big scorer, but here the coach puts him in a different position. Throughout the story it is clear that Rick badly needs an attitude adjustment.

Gary Cole is Coach Larry Gelwix, who has built the best and most successful high school rugby teams, and contends yearly for the national high school rugby championships.

Neal McDonough is Rick's dad and also a coach, Coach Richard Penning, for a rival high school team that Rick was playing for before his run-in with the law. Dad was hoping that son would act as a "spy" of sorts, find out what the rival teams was doing so they could beat them.

But coach Gelwix built up his team mainly by instilling rules for life, honesty, family, teamwork. The team is always bigger than any individual. Only after Rick finally accepted that was he able to get on with his life, and also make amends with his parents.

Good movie.

Film Extolling the Personal and Community Value of Rugby Union

[l_rawjalaurence · 7/10 · 5 July 2016]

Set in and around Arizona, FOREVER STRONG concentrates on the world of junior rugby union. Rick Penning (Sean Faris) plays for the Razorbacks, a competent side whose members spend their leisure hours drinking and enjoying themselves. Things take an unfortunate turn after a car accident where Rick was driving; he is sent to a juvenile detention center where he abruptly ostracized by his fellow-inmates.

Rick is invited to play for Highland, the local rugby team. As in his first years in prison, he occupies the position of an outsider, believing himself to be superior in terms of ability to his teammates, and refusing to respect the words of coach Larry Gelwix (Gary Cole). Time passes; and Rick eventually undergoes a significant change of character, as he comes to understand the psychological advantages of playing for the team, not just for himself, and following Highland's mantra of never doing anything to embarrass himself, his team, or his family.

The story is a familiar one, explored on a wider canvas by Clint Eastwood in INVICTUS (2009). Rugby union might be a violent sport, but it teaches players to respect themselves as well as others; to conduct themselves appropriately at all times, both on and off the field; and to understand the importance of listening to oneself as well as to others. The virtues of the game are summed up by the haka, commonly associated with the New Zealand All Blacks, but here practiced by the Highland team as a mark of tradition, a challenge and a recognition of the power of family past and present.

The legendary All Black Syd Going makes a cameo appearance, but the film really belongs to Cole as coach Gelwix, who apparently does nothing except sit in a chair on the sidelines offering advice, but possesses a unique ability to judge individual characters. In the past Rick's rugby-playing father Richard (Neal McDonough) had issues with Gelwix, that he has never been able to deal with; but at the end of the film the two men are reconciled in a mutual understanding of rugby's socializing power.

Competently filmed (by Ryan Little) with a fine sense of landscape, FOREVER STRONG is an uplifting piece, which only serves to increase confusion among rugby fans. If American high school rugby is so competitive and strong, why can't the country produce a stronger national team to compete at the World Cup?

Great Movie, it's a true story, how could it not be good?

[elderfarr · 10/10 · 19 May 2009]

I wonder how someone could diss on this movie. It is based on an actual story. It is not necessarily about "Rugby" itself so to the one that posted on here that they need to make a "real" rugby movie, you missed the point. This is not another typical sports movie where a team sucks, they hire Emilio Estevez and turn the team around and win the championship and give everyone the warm and fuzzies. It focuses on a STORY. It shows how someone can change his or her life for the better. The movies now days are all about sex, drugs, partying etc. That is Hollywood. I am a big fan of movies, but I have to say this was an inspirational movie with a great message. If you consider yourself a "tough guy" don't watch the movie, it won't live up to your standards. If you want to watch a good, inspirational movie, this is a good one.

A Rugby player going down a bad path is put in a Juvenile Detention Center. He is allowed to play Rugby and begins going through an unexpected transformation.

[moviesaccordingtodes · 7/10 · 1 October 2014]

As a part of one of my favorite genres, Forever Strong was truly powerful and absolutely captivating.

The movie states that it is based on true events. I did some research and couldn't find anything about the characters. The information on the film stated that Forever Strong is actually based on events from several different lives and Rugby teams, not one particular story.

All in all it was a fantastic film. I was shocked that by the end of the movie I actually liked Sean Faris' character, Rick Penning. He started out as an arrogant jock. I wasn't aware that Penn Badgley was in this. I was sad to see him as such a creep but this definitely showed us that he can play more than the lovable goofball he played on Gossip Girl.

I thought it was interesting that Forever Strong is about rugby but we barely ever see the games. It truly was about the boys as coach Larry Gelwix said, "I want you to be forever strong on the field, so that you will be forever strong off the field". He worked hard at making their lives better and transforming boys into respectable men.

I highly, highly recommend Forever Strong! It leaves you feeling inspired and hopeful about life, wanting to be a better person, and wanting to better the relationship with your family. It's a great family film.

Good movie poor rugby

[agadorchicki · 8/10 · 28 September 2008]

I am huge movie enthusiast and also an active rugby player who believes that rugby is the greatest game ever played. Forever Strong is a mix of Coach Carter and sloppy rugby. This movie is full of great acting, well developed characters and in action shots that will have you ducking and dodging in your seat, but with more arm tackles than pee wee football and almost every shot cuts away as soon as a player touches the ground its filmed to almost seem like football. If you want to bring your kids to see a movie that will build character from within and could inspire a blind man to see again I can easily give it 9 out of 10, if you want to see a great rugby movie that truly shows the sport your going to have to wait for the next one because Forever Strong is mostly practice, running, and a one ruck film, for this I give it a 7.75 out of 10.

Forever Strong...Nice movie, but tries to be more than it is

[joshdestardi · 6/10 · 12 December 2010]

The acting is solid across the board, but it feels a bit hacked together, and the dialogue is very cheesy at times.

"If I can't see my boys be the champions they are" is a line repeated twice in the movie, the first time to good effect, the second...sounded as out of place a Harry Potter in a war movie. There are many examples of this out of place dialogue.

The main character was the best actor, and was convincing as a rugby player. The supporting cast was also very believable as a rugby team. Maybe some of the skepticism I had towards the film was the fact that it just didn't 'feel' as if it had any gravity throughout. It all felt like just an exercise in "let's do an inspiring sports movie and see what happens.

Still, the 2 other adults I saw this with enjoyed the movie overall, and for that, I rated it a '6'.

Why did Hollywood have to ruin rugby?

[schoepeo · 5/10 · 10 October 2008]

While I am glad that a movie has been made about rugby (Murderball excluded), I could not be more saddened than I am about this movie. This is basically just a sappy, inspirational football movie with bigger balls, literally.

Rugby is gritty and intense. Rugby is rude. Rugby scrapes your face and stomps on you. Rugby gives you whiplash as it flips you off your feet and then buys you a beer to say, "Hey, b***h. We're still friends." Rugby is not mainstream and shame on these writers/directors/producers for trying to make it so. People watching this movie will think that rugby is a feel good sport that anyone can play. Not everyone can play it. It takes a special person to play rugby. I like to play rugby knowing that people at work and in non-rugby social settings fear me (as many fear the unknown).

If another movie is made about rugby, I hope that real rugby is shown. Rugby with real soul. Real desire. Real hits, tackles and rucks. Real socials/drink-ups. Real players. Sure throw in an actor or two but make them look and sound real. Make them ugly and mean (although all of us ruggers are beautiful and nice in our regular lives). Make them actually play rugby. A movie shouldn't try to make everyone like rugby, it should simply show rugby at its best and let people make up their own minds.

Another clue that rugby shouldn't be mainstream: When I hit preview for this submission I was told that there were spelling issues. 'Rucks' and 'Ruggers' are apparently not words. LOL

Why can't we just support a movie that promotes change for the better?

[elderjgus54 · 8/10 · 28 September 2008]

The movie forever strong will never be nominated for an Oscar, it will never be nominated for best acting, for best motion picture. But this movie does have things that other movies don't. In a nation with so much scandal, so many problems, movies being poured out with little thought to the morals of society, at least this movie promotes good. What is wrong with standing behind something that promotes happiness? We should support movies that tell our American teens that there is more to life than sex drugs and alcohol. As for this Haka debate as previously stated, the Hakka is not exclusive to the New Zealand All Blacks, various Utah high school football teams and colleges perform this ritual before games. Including Hawaii, BYU, etc.

kept me interested

[borrellij · 7/10 · 22 April 2016]

between the storyline and the sports scenes this movie kept me interested the whole time i personally don't play rugby or know how to but this did portray a good storyline and the scenes were very interesting. so overall this deserves a 7-10 for good ways to keep people on their edge and making me learn a small amount of rugby and the heart of the sport as a whole and changed my outlook on rugby to positive. to be honest the problems and solutions in this movie were very unpredictable and i normally can predict and ending to a movie but for this one i couldn't. they changed the storyline enough to make the ending unpredictable which will have my interest enough to have my satisfaction with the movie! great movie!

Hollywood Rugby

[jookieapc · 2/10 · 23 May 2009]

This movie is horrendous. The acting is cheesy and laughable. If you know anything at all about Rugby the match action is boring. In fact any episode of Power Rangers contains more realism than this movie. The 'action' consists of no more than one pass and a shot of guy landing over the try line or being tackled without the ball and hectic hand held shots of who knows what. It's impossible to tell. There is nothing of the excitement, skill and construction of try scoring that real Rugby contains. As for the haka, this is a bunch of yanks trying to imitate a tradition they know nothing about, much like the white rasta character that should have been left out of the film. Next time there's a Rugby movie made we can only hope that people who know Rugby make it.