By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: IMDB
The Legend of Bagger Vance is one of the best Golf movies ever made, especially in the 21st century. It was released in 2000 and starred Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron.
Smith does an incredible job portraying Bagger Vance, a caddie for Matt Damon’s character (Rannulph Junuh). This is Smith when he was at the peak of his acting career. He must’ve been 31 or 32 while filming the picture.
The script was adapted from the 1995 book The Legend of Bagger Vance: A Golf and the Game of Life. Jeremy Leven wrote the script, and Steven Pressfield wrote the book. Leven went on to write the screenplays for The Notebook and My Sister’s Keeper.
Robert Redford is known as an actor, director, and Producer. The Legend of Bagger Vance marked Redford’s sixth film as a director and producer.
It’s a family-friendly caliber film. The story makes you feel good and brings a smile to your face. It’s inspiring. If this film had been made during Hollywood’s Golden Era, it would’ve been considered a classic.
The movie takes place after the Great Depression. The script wasn’t strong or consistent, but the performances carried the movie. Redford’s direction was solid, but this movie deserves its flowers from an acting, cinematography, production, and costume design standpoint.
One of the film’s best scenes is when Damon makes a hole-in-one at the beginning of Act Three. The crowd is surprised but admires it, giving him a standing ovation and clapping loudly for him.
Lane Smith, as Grantland Rice, and Theron, as Adele, give solid performances as supporting actors in this film. Jack Lemmon did a good job as the narrator.
Overall, The Legend of Bagger Vance scores 4.1 out of 5 stars.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
X: @mmm_sportnfilms, Instagram: @miguel_passionforsports and @themmmjournal, LinkedIn: The MMM Journal, TikTok: @miguelmikemedina