Rating of
2.5/4
Decent Basketball movie
TheWolf - wrote on 08/03/07
Nick Nolte stars as Pete Bell the coach of the Western Dolphins college basketball team. A former national champion he's just suffered his first losing season. Determined to change this he and his staff immediately go after top prospects Butch McRae (Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway), Ricky Roe (Matt Nover), and Neon (Shaquille O'Neal), a powerhouse of a player who never had aspirations of going to college. However, getting them to sign proves to be a wary task because the only way to get all three is with money and expensive gifts, an illegal form of cheating in the collegiate ranks.
"Blue Chips" is the kind of sports movie where an interest in basketball is recommended to fully enjoy. It can be interesting to see the strategies employed in winning a game, but it's even more interesting to watch what goes in to putting a winning team together. Because of what we see happen to the sport and Bell, who we sympathize with, it can be heavy to endure. It does raise an important question however: how many times does this happen in real life?
The movie plays out well and supporting actors, JT Walsh and Shaq, give solid performances. As for the basketball action itself, this movie probably has the best game sequences I have ever seen in a movie, with real college players filling as extras. There is also a load of cameos, including Rick Pitino, Dick Vitale and Larry Bird to name a few.
