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A movie about a high school golf team made up of Mexican-American teenagers in the 1950s creates expectations in the viewer. There will be sunlit greens (writer/director Julio Quintana has worked with Terrence Malick ), condescension and blatant bigotry, setbacks, supportive wives and girlfriends, comfortably nostalgic '50s music, doubting family members, inspiring pep talks, and a satisfying victory. “The Long Game” has all of that, appealingly told with sincerity and taste.

The film is based on the true story of the Mustangs, five caddies who built their own golf course to practice on in the middle of South Texas and went on to win the 1957 Texas State High School Golf Championship. The movie gets right to it, with a sign on a Del Rio, Texas store under “I Like Ike” that says “No dogs. No Mexicans.” JB Peña (a warm, likable Jay Hernandez ) is the new superintendent of schools, and he hopes to realize his dream of joining the local golf club. He thinks being nominated by his close friend Frank ( Dennis Quaid ), who fought with him in the Marines, could overcome the club’s history of prohibiting members of color. It is not. One club member tells JB, “I’m afraid there’s just no place for you here.”

JB meets the young caddies when one of them accidentally drives a golf ball at his car and shatters the window. Instead of punishing them, he offers them the chance to help him start a golf team at the school. The standout is Joe ( Julian Works ), who initially declines but soon joins in. When Frank sees the teenagers are so dedicated they build their own holes to practice on, he agrees to be the assistant coach.

Some of JB’s goals for the team conflict with one another. He wants them to tuck in their shirts, be respectful, and fit in, to look like they belong there. He tells them not to speak Spanish on the golf course. “The most important thing,” he tells them, “Is for people to see Mexicans golfing.” But he also wants them to be proud of who they are, which can mean not fitting in. When Joe says he does not want to “perform in front of rich bastards who don’t respect me,” JB understands that fitting in only takes them so far.

Some of it is overly predictable, even in such a familiar genre: The team is mistaken for caddies; a young club member skims a caddy’s tip. Two different times, a coach tells the team that life is like golf, and he also asks them, “Don’t you want to show them what you’re made of?” But Quintana nimbly sidesteps some cliches. The white assistant coach is not saving (or is saved by) them. The incidents leading up to the state championship are ably edited and well chosen, giving Jaina Lee Ortiz a chance to shine as JB’s sympathetic wife who has her own struggle and her own golf skills. Joe’s father has his own idea of fitting in, telling Joe not to play golf because people will laugh at him. Those words echo later as Joe says them to his girlfriend, who wants to attend a writing program. 

“The Office’s” Oscar Nuñez plays the school principal whose connections come in handy, and Cheech Marin (back on the golf course after “ Tin Cup ”) is endearing as always as the golf club groundskeeper, who wears a cage-like piece to keep him from being hit by stray balls. The team visits two diners, one where they are refused service and one across the border where they expect to be at home but are jeered at for being American. JB faces his own moral dilemma when he is presented with a bribe and a threat to get him to end the program.

Anyone familiar with the genre knows to expect some golf metaphors about life. Indeed, golf seems to inspire more metaphors than any other sport. Maybe it is because it extends beyond individual eyesight, because it operates on the honor system without referees, because there are no wildly cheering fans in bleachers, because there is meditative walking between holes, because business executives play golf, or because the economics of a golf course have limited the sport to those who can afford to play, making it the province of the wealthy and powerful. 

In golf, the long game is about power, distance, and direction. The short game is when the player approaches the final shot into the hole, which involves control, strategy, and fine-tuning. For this team and their coach, the long game is about whatever it takes to play and get on track to a championship, even if that means smiling at insults and swallowing their pride when the competition cheats. Ultimately, though, it's not about golf but about dedication, resilience, and the joy of finding you can do better than your dreams.

Nell Minow is the Contributing Editor at RogerEbert.com.

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Film credits.

The Long Game (2024)

110 minutes

Jay Hernandez as JB Peña

Dennis Quaid as Frank Mitchell

Cheech Marin as Pollo

Julian Works as Joe Treviño

Jaina Lee Ortiz as Lucy Peña

Brett Cullen as Judge Milton Cox

Oscar Nunez as Tomás Guerra

Paulina Chávez as Daniela Torres

Gregory Diaz IV as Gene Vasquez

José Julián as Lupe

Christian Gallegos as Mario

• Julio Quintana
• Jennifer C. Stetson
• Paco Farias

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• Movie Review
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the new gold standard for video game films

From its cheesy nostalgia plays to its breathtaking and imaginative visuals, Universal’s new Mario movie is everything a video game adaptation should be.

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

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The most delightful part of Nintendo’s entire Mario franchise is how — despite all their decades of conflicts in various video games — Mario, Bowser, Peach, and the rest of their crew have really always been a troupe of actors putting on whimsical stage plays for a captive audience. That idea alone isn’t exactly what defines Universal and Illumination’s new The Super Mario Bros. Movie from co-directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. But much in the same way Super Mario Bros. 3 ’s ending invited players to think about and appreciate it as being more than just a video game, The Super Mario Bros. Movie plays like a magical celebration of how this franchise has evolved.

For years after Nintendo’s first live-action Super Mario Bros. movie debuted in theaters and immediately bombed at the box office, it seemed as if the studio wanted nothing more than to leave the entire endeavor in the past and steer clear of trying to make movies. But one of the more intriguing things about Universal’s new feature — a co-production between Nintendo and Illumination — is how effectively it manages to weave together so many iconic elements from the franchise’s bigger outings, like the ’90s movie, Mario Kart , and the Donkey Kong games, into a story that’s equal parts nostalgic and reflective of the franchise’s future.

In addition to being generally good guys who know a thing or two about pipes, The Super Mario Bros. Movie ’s Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are also introduced as Brooklynites and small business owners trying to make a name for themselves in the film’s opening scenes. As adults and the two youngest members of their surprisingly large family, both of the Mario bros. know how crushing it can be to come home every day to nothing but incessant criticism. But at the heart of Mario and Luigi’s bond is also the mutual understanding that, so long as the two of them stick together, there’s little they can’t accomplish.

That attitude’s what gets the brothers up every morning and inspires them to go out into the world in search of bill-paying gigs. But it’s also why they’re both so game when they unexpectedly get sucked into the adventure of a lifetime by way of a mysterious green pipe hidden somewhere deep in New York City’s sewer system.

Because it’s so dense with painstakingly crafted details meant to spark joy from the jump, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when The Super Mario Bros. Movie ’s intangible magic — the general feeling, rather than the movie’s actual magic — first kicks in. But as the Mario bros. jump, flip, and twirl their way across town on foot in an early action sequence styled after the classic Mario side scrollers, you can immediately get a sense of just how serious the movie is about translating the essence of its source material into something that feels familiar but also like its own distinct quantity.

This ends up being the case with most of The Super Mario Bros. Movie ’s complex set pieces, which doesn’t come as a surprise given Illumination’s track record and Nintendo’s reputation for being extremely protective of its brands. What does come as something of a shock, though, is how genuinely inoffensive (which is to say “not off-putting”) Pratt and Day’s takes on Mario and Luigi are — a concern the movie addresses head-on with some solid gags and a textual explanation as to why Mario occasionally sounds like he might have spent some time in Pawnee, Indiana.

As much information about the Mario bros. as the film lays out before they’re isekai-ed across the galaxy, it’s far, far more reserved about others like Bowser (Jack Black) and his sorcerer Kamek (Kevin Michael Richardson), who serve as hammy villain foils to the Mushroom Kingdom’s Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her loyal subject Toad (Keegan-Michael Key.)

If you’ve played through games like Super Mario World or Super Mario Odyssey , then the general shape of The Super Mario Bros. Movie ’s plot will be obvious from the moment you first hear why Bowser’s so hell-bent on getting his hands on a certain star-shaped MacGuffin. The movie works, though, because as it’s building toward its logical and very traditional Mario kind of ending, it uses every possible opportunity it has to make its various fantastical worlds feel like living, breathing, organic places that you’d want to spend hours exploring if they were parts of an open-world video game. It’s cool as hell every single time someone’s outfit transforms after they ingest mushroom power-ups, but it’s things like being able to see each of the individual seeds on a fire flower’s face flicking like a candle that really make you appreciate how hard the movie’s working to get things “right.”

At times, it almost feels like Illumination might have gone overboard in terms of dotting its i’s and crossing its t’s for a movie that moves incredibly fast and consistently has the air of something that’s been crafted with children prone to rewatching the same thing in mind. But it’s just as easy to interpret those things about the film as signs of how much more immersive and engaging Nintendo plans for its Mario theme park and future games to be.

Watching The Super Mario Bros. Movie , it’s impossible not to imagine what it might be like to one day play a game as visually rich running on hardware that puts current-gen Nintendo Switch to shame. That’s probably (part of) the reason the movie exists. But as big-budget commercials for video games and consoles go, The Super Mario Bros. Movie ’s going to be undefeated for quite some time.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie also stars Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Charles Martinet. The movie’s slated to hit theaters on April 5th.

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Fallout First Reviews: A 'Violent, Fun, Emotional, Epic' Video Game Adaptation, Critics Say

Critics say prime video's new series benefits from strong storytelling, committed performances, and a deft balance of tone, making it one of the best video game adaptations ever..

TAGGED AS: First Reviews , streaming , television , TV

Fallout is the latest video game adaptation to hit the small screen. Created by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner , and executive produced by Westworld ‘s Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy , the eight episode series, inspired by the hit game franchise from Bethesda Softworks drops on Wednesday, April 10 to Amazon Prime Video.

The post-apocalyptic series stars Ella Purnell as Lucy; Aaron Moten as Maximus; and Walton Goggins as The Ghoul. Joining them is an ensemble cast that includes Kyle MacLachlan , Sarita Choudhury , Michael Emerson , Leslie Uggams , Zach Cherry , Moises Arias and Johnny Pemberton , among others.

With nearly three decades of lore under its belt, the video game franchise has drawn a massive fanbase. Needless to say, there’s a lot of hype surrounding the new series. Does it live up to expectations? Here’s what critics are saying about Fallout :

How does it compare to the video games?

Prime Video’s TV adaptation of Fallout does something the games in the legendary franchise never have—put storytelling above all else. — Bernard Boo, Den of Geek

Fallout is the new standard for video game adaptations. This series is violent, fun, emotional, epic, and just plain awesome. — Alex Maidy, JoBlo’s Movie Network

Opting for a new narrative that simply takes place in the Fallout  world, the series is a mix of adventure and puzzle-box mystery, with more than enough action scenes to satisfy the RPG faithful. It’s fun, and only occasionally overcomplicated. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today

Fallout takes the ideas of the games and crafts its own story in an already interesting world. Nails the satire, the wackiness, and about everything a fan could want. — Zach Pope, Zach Pope Reviews

Bodies fly, heads explode, and video game logic reigns triumphant. — Niv M. Sultan, Slant Magazine

How is the cast?

(Photo by Prime Video)

All of the performances are great; Purnell is a strong, loveably naive lead, while Moten delivers a fascinatingly, sort-of loathsome turn. Excusing the wonderful pooch that plays CX404, aka Four, Goggins is the runaway MVP, an agent of chilly, smooth-talking chaos somewhere between John Marston and Clarence Boddicker. — Cameron Frew, Dexerto

“I hate it up here,” Lucy mutters early on, and given the horrors to which she’s subjected, nobody could blame her. Yet her quest not only involves no shortage of carnage but also insights into her community and its origins, as well as encounters (some relatively brief) with a strong array of co-stars, including Moisés Arias, Kyle MacLachlan, Sarita Choudhury, Michael Emerson, and Leslie Uggams. — Brian Lowry, CNN

The Ghoul serves as the perfect foil for Lucy and Maximus, with Goggins deploying megatons’ worth of weary charisma in his performance as Fallout’ s resident lone wolf, black hat archetype. — Belen Edwards, Mashable

Emancipation’s Aaron Moten and And Just Like That… standout Sarita Choudhury nail the determined, world-weary drive that propels their characters forward while Justified’ s Walton Goggins gives one of his best performances yet as Cooper Howard, a mutated ghoul of a gunslinger who gives everyone a hard time with biting quips and searing bullet work. — David Opie, Digital Spy

How’s the writing and world-building?

The show’s creators have done such an impeccable job fleshing out the world of Fallout that it feels like the characters are treading stories and quests you’ve experienced yourself in one way or another. — Tanner Dedmon, ComicBook.com

Story-wise, Fallout  smartly eschews trying to adapt specific storylines or side-quests from any of the games, but rather concocts a new one set in the rich and familiar landscape. — Brian Lloyd, entertainment.ie

There are plenty of Easter eggs, as you might expect from a video game adaptation, but Fallout manages to make them seem like part of the world, too. It all feels real and believable as pieces of a whole existence that these people have scraped together, which goes a long way toward helping the show’s humor land. Even the Easter eggs feel carefully designed to fit into the world and the lives of the characters, rather than drawing focus away from them or sticking out as a glaring distraction. — Austen Goslin, Polygon

Do the violence and humor work?

It’s strong, it’s goddamn hilarious, and it highlights exactly how to swing for the fences while still knowing where Homebase is. It may be a new series, but Fallout is an instant classic of the streaming age. — Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community

A bright and funny apocalypse filled with dark punchlines and bursts of ultra-violence, Fallout is among the best video game adaptations ever made. — Matt Purslow, IGN Movies

Finding a tonal balance between the drama and the comedy is a razor’s edge, but Fallout  makes it look effortless. As a result, spending time in this hardened world is as fun, engaging, and engrossing as the games. — William Goodman, TheWrap

It’s an equal parts funny and nightmarish show that, like its protagonist, isn’t content to live inside a projection of the past. — Kambole Campbell, Empire Magazine

Crucially, these laugh-out-loud moments of disbelief don’t detract from the harsh reality of this world, which is perhaps even more violent than you might expect, especially for newbies to this franchise. — David Opie, Digital Spy

Any final thoughts?

Fallout is a clever, twisted apocalyptic odyssey that soars as both a video game adaptation and a standalone series. — Lauren Coates, The Spool

For those who have never played the Fallout series, especially those of the time-strapped ilk who can’t just pour hundreds of hours into a game, they should give Prime Video’s Fallout a go. — Howard Waldstein, CBR

Fallout is both totally rad and an absolute blast. — Neil Armstrong, BBC.com

The show’s clearly committed to being the definitive Fallout adaptation, a love letter to fans, no question, while still opening the vault door to welcome in just about everyone else brave enough to step inside. — Jon Negroni, TV Line

There’s really nothing like Fallout on television right now, and that’s ultimately a good thing. — Therese Lacson, Collider

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Screen Rant

The long game review: a high-energy sports movie that is a tribute to texas, golf, & friendship.

Following the true story of a Mexican-American Texas golf team in the 1950s, The Long Game uplifts the audience but doesn't shy away from reality.

• The Long Game truthfully portrays the camaraderie of young Mexican-American golfers in 1950s Del Rio.
• The film's fast-paced narrative keeps the story moving, although character relationships are not fully explored.
• While lacking in character depth, The Long Game balances serious themes of racism with the joy of golf and friendship.

The Long Game has the difficult job of maintaining the integrity of true events and people while creating a concise and well-balanced narrative. It takes place 1950s Del Rio, Texas and follows a group of young Mexican-American highschoolers who form a golf team and compete against the all-white teams that dominated the sport at the time. At the heart of the story is JB Peña, a World War II veteran and school superintendent who will stop at nothing to get the boys and himself recognized and respected as part of the golf community.

JB Peña and his wife moved to the small town of Del Rio, TX. When JB is rejected by a country club on the basis of his skin color, he's devastated. But his world soon collides with a group of young Latino golf caddies who work there, and JB is inspired by the handmade course the boys built to teach themselves golf.

• The Long Game truthfully tells its story
• The film's strengths lies in the camaraderie of JB and his friends
• The Long Game tells a well-balanced story
• The character relationships aren't fully explored
• There's an overall lack of character development

Julio Quintana helms the film as the director, and there's never any doubt that he has a clear vision for the film's trajectory.

Like many of the best sports movies based on real-life events , The Long Game is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of its genre. There is heavy material woven through the story, and the serious instances of violence and racism are treated delicately. However, The Long Game has no intentions of being a morality tale and is most concerned with the hard work and joy the characters find through each other and the game of golf. Julio Quintana helms the film as the director, and there's never any doubt that he has a clear vision for the film's trajectory.

Fast Pacing & High Energy Keeps The Long Game's Story Moving

The film rarely drags or lingers on a scene.

From the first shot, The Long Game jumps off the screen, practically begging us to leap off the couch and join in on the fun. The central group of boys is boisterous, though they have a deep affection for each other. Their dynamic, in the beginning, is endearing, and this sense of friendship and belonging within their group is an enduring aspect of the movie. Quintana understands youthful exuberance well, but the subdued resignation of JB (Jay Hernandez) is just as compelling. From the start, the audience understands that golf is more than a game to JB, it's acceptance.

While the movie is about much more than golf, the story misses the opportunity to use the game to its fullest potential as a metaphor.

Golf might be some people's favorite sport, but for many, the nuances of the game and the skills demonstrated onscreen will be lost on them. However, The Long Game grasps this and uses it to its advantage. Almost every tournament is portrayed through montage, with the film only slowing down to show particularly pivotal moments. This has its pros and cons, as it means the game of golf never has the chance to be viewed as boring by the audience, but also that none of the games carry enormous weight within the narrative.

While the movie is about much more than golf, the story misses the opportunity to use the game to its fullest potential as a metaphor. There are scenes that The Long Game gives ample time to while whizzing through dramatic climaxes between central characters. Character motivations can get lost in the story's pace, namely with Joe (Julian Works) and Frank (Dennis Quaid), the two characters who serve as foils to JB and round out the narrative. They're strong-willed and compelling men, but their internal struggles aren't clear enough. Not to mention that Joe's friends and teammates are overlooked.

The Long Game (2024)

There is an undercurrent of patriotism and militaristic pride throughout the film. While The Long Game actively grapples with what it means to be Mexican-American and how Mexicans were and still are treated as second-class citizens simply because they're not white, there is a sense that every character is proud of their country and to be American. The film is decidedly apolitical, and there's ultimately no requirement for the movie to take a stance. It's not the job of The Long Game to make a statement, and the parallels between the military and team sports mirror each other nicely.

10 Movies About The Home Front In World War II

Though the characters are underdeveloped, the emotional impact is strong, few of the characters are fully explored, but the ending provides an uplifting climax.

Though The Long Game is just under two hours, we never get the opportunity to fully know the characters. There are hints of deeper issues that signal the characters have fully formed lives, but these moments never get more than a scene or two to develop. Some of the most egregious omissions of character development are in Lucy Peña (Jaina Lee Ortiz), JB's wife, and Daniela Torres (Paulina Chávez), Joe's girlfriend. They have definitive traits and independent desires, but they are viewed only through their connection to the men in their lives.

From the first shot, The Long Game jumps off the screen, practically begging us to leap off the couch and join in on the fun.

The three characters who are given the most time to evolve and grow, Joe, JB, and Frank, are still relative mysteries by the end of the film. One of the most compelling dynamics is that between Joe and his father, but it's explored very little onscreen. This illustrates the biggest issue with The Long Game; it attempts to tackle too much and loses strong character work in the process. In this way, the momentum of the film betrays itself. Though some energy might have been lost in exploring these relationships, it would have benefited the story.

However, the inherent universality of the narrative gives the plot strong highs and lows despite not knowing too much about the characters. If anything, it's a testament to what the film accomplishes that there's a desire to spend more time with the story. Similar to the lack of character development, questions about generational divides and assimilation are only mildly touched upon. In this way, The Long Game doesn’t push itself far enough, but ultimately, it successfully and truthfully tells the story it set out to tell and has fun along the way.

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‘The Long Game’ Review: Mexican-American Caddies Tee Off Against Racist Golfers in Underdog Sports Drama That Falls Just Short

David ehrlich.

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Dennis Quaid’s fading career prospects and emergent Reagan fetishism have spurred a recent swerve into inspirational — often explicitly Christian — films about hard-luck white guys who find salvation through classic American values like prayer, football, mid-century warfare, and lowering taxes on the rich.

The America he misses did that too, and making films that indulge in such Boomer nostalgia allows Quaid to pretend that his America was a real place that existed beyond the white imagination — a place that might be possible for us to recreate someday. After all, like “ Midway ,” “The Hill,” and “American Underdog” before it, “The Long Game” is based on a true story. 

But at a time when patchy, low-budget sports dramas have become synonymous with conservative messaging, and corn-fed actors like Quaid are just as crucial to that aesthetic as wooden dialogue and glossy digital camerawork, “The Long Game” only seems to be par for the course. At the risk of overstating the subversive intent of a golf movie so milquetoast it makes “The Legend of Bagger Vance” feel like “Happy Gilmore” (and at the risk of suggesting that Quintana had some kind of ulterior motive in re-teaming with producer Quaid, whom he previously directed in “Blue Miracle”), this inclusive crowd-pleaser mimics the posture of an Erwin brothers’ production in the service of a Latino-driven story about the virtues of beating white people at their own game. It isn’t about Quaid’s character, but it’s kind of about who’s playing him. 

But when one door closes, an errant golf ball crashes JB’s car window and smacks him right on the head. It turns out that the Latino teens who caddie at the club have developed their own fascination with the game — they’ve even carved their own course out of some weeds on the side of the highway. The minute JB identifies the boys as San Felipe students, he decides to create the school’s first golf team. Not for nothing, but the state championships are hosted at the Del Rio Country Club. It’s a tall order to compete with all the white kids born with a nine-iron in their hands, but JB gets a boost from his old war buddy turned weary benefactor Frank Mitchell (Quaid), a Del Rio member whose losses in the Korean War left him with some deep misgivings about following the rules. Cue: endless montages, Cheech Marin as a magical groundskeeper named Pollo, whose chain metal work outfit makes him seem like he just stepped out of Arthurian legend, and a long-distance putt for every gross display of racism. 

The chiseled and pouty Julian Works plays Joe Treviño, whose James Dean vibe would probably be enough to make him the de facto leader of the group even if this movie didn’t also privilege him with a semi-abusive father (Jimmy Gonzalez) who’s been so mistreated by white America that he resents his son’s efforts to assimilate. The rest of the Mustangs aren’t given the chance to make a similar impression (one is largely defined by how much he wishes he looked like James Dean), but Miguel Angel Garcia, “In the Heights” breakout Gregory Diaz IV, Christian Gallegos, and “The Society” star Jose Julian galvanize this movie with the lived-in camaraderie they infuse into every moment of their screen time. 

JB, who doesn’t have a son of his own (as his adoring wife reminds us virtually every time she appears), is convinced that Mexican-Americans will only find acceptance by appealing to white people on their own terms. “The only way these boys are going to advance in life is by playing by the rules,” he insists, as if the game isn’t rigged against them. As if the kids aren’t mistaken for caddies in the same breath as Frank is mistaken for their coach when they show up for their first tournament. Frank, on the other hand, has a different idea of what a meaningful victory might look like, and it’s a testament to Quaid’s grizzled humanity that his character’s wisdom never feels like stolen valor. The movie seems to forget that Frank is first introduced as a functional alcoholic, just as the movie seems to forget that its most substantive conflict stems from his and JB’s philosophical disagreement. But there’s something beautiful to the idea that helping these kids might be enough to quiet Frank’s demons, especially because “The Long Game” never allows those demons to overshadow the task at hand. 

“The Long Game” is determined to ape the tropes of a feel-good sports drama, but only as a means to an end, and its struggle to balance the demands of the genre with the deeper concerns underpinning this story ultimately stops either side of that equation from going the distance. Paulina Chávez is a delight as Joe’s love interest, but the wooden scenes between them fail to tee up the decision Joe has to make about what to do with his life, and where to find a meaningful degree of acceptance. 

Mucho Mas Releasing will release “The Long Game” in theaters on Friday, April 12.

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‘The Long Game’ Review: Young Latinos Aim to Earn Respect and Victory on the Golf Course in Uplifting Period Drama

Jay Hernandez and Dennis Quaid head the cast of an earnest, fact-based indie about the improbable achievements of underdogs in 1950s Texas.

By Joe Leydon

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• ‘The Long Game’ Review: Young Latinos Aim to Earn Respect and Victory on the Golf Course in Uplifting Period Drama 6 days ago
• ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett’ Review: Passable Historical Drama Imagines an Early Adventure of the Legendary Frontiersman 1 month ago
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Winner of an audience award at the 2023 SXSW film fest, “ The Long Game ” is an utterly predictable yet thoroughly engaging period drama. Set in 1950s Texas, the film focuses on the true-life story of five Mexican-American youths who triumph against all odds while overcoming adversity, prejudice and periodic self-doubts in their pursuit of a Texas State High School Golf Championship trophy.  

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But when JB notices that the five caddies have developed a talent for the game while competing at a one-hole course they’ve improvised for themselves on an unattended stretch of public land, he figures that, hey, maybe what San Filipe High really needs is a student golf team, the San Felipe Mustangs. And he should be their coach — with a little help from Frank.

But he and his fine cast infuse even the hokiest moments in “The Long Game” with a disarming sincerity, so that, while there’s never any serious doubt about what will happen when the qualifying series of golf tournaments concludes for the Mustangs, the young underdogs — and their grown-up allies — consistently generate rooting interest on and off the fairway.

Quintana, who started his career by working with Terrence Malick on “The Tree of Life” and “To the Wonder,” gets splendid work from DP Alex Quintana, his brother, and production designer Carlos Osorio, both of whom greatly enhance the film’s period flavor (which is strong enough to withstand a few minor intrusive anachronisms).

Julian Works is the standout among the Mustangs, to a large degree because his character is the only one of the youths who has more than two dimensions. (The other Latino teens are equally well-cast, but they are given much less to do.) To that end, it helps that Works’ Joe has scenes where he interacts with an angrily disapproving father (Jimmy Gonzalez), and romances a lovely classmate (a beguiling Paulina Chávez) with literary ambitions.

Hernandez is low-key and credible as JB develops mentor-pupil relationships with the Mustangs, and maintains a loving and supportive rapport with his wife Lucy (Jaina Lee Ortiz). Quaid strikes the perfect balance of twinkly-eyed mischievousness and grizzled seriousness, with a side order of wartime trauma, while Marin skillfully offsets his welcome comic relief as Pollo notes that, if you’re not white, fighting for your country does not guarantee acceptance in a segregated postwar society. Maybe you’ll have to win a few golf tournaments first.

Reviewed online, April 9, 2024. In SXSW. MPA Rating: PG. Running time: 112 MIN.

• Production: A Mucho Mas Media Releasing release and presentation, in association with Fifth Season, of a Mucho Mas Media, Bonniedale production, in association with Jaguar Bite. Producers: Javier Chapa, Ben Howard, Dennis Quaid, Laura Quaid, Marla Quintana. Executive producers: Jay Hernandez, Phillip Braun, Jason Gerber, Christian Sosa, John Williams, Veronica B. Jones, Jennifer Kuczaj, Simon Wise, Colleen Barshop, Vincent Cordero, Simón Beltrán Echeverri, Juan Pablo Solano Vergara, Carlos Osorio, Humberto G. Garcia, Jesse Mandujano, Julio M. Quintana, Ricky Joshi, Brian Eddy, Jeff Grossberg, Jack Shemtov, Matthew Dwyer, David E. Campbell, Michael Hollingsworth, Tim Mahler, Jeff Moseley, Carter Pope.
• Crew: Director: Julio Quintana. Screenplay: Julio Quintana, Jennifer C. Stetson, Paco Farias, based on the book “Mustang Miracle” by Humberto G. Garcia. Camera: Alex Quintana. Editor: James K. Crouch. Music: Hanan Townshend. 
• With: With: Jay Hernandez, Dennis Quaid, Cheech Marin, Julian Works, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Brett Cullen, Oscar Nunez, Richard Robichaux, Paulina Chavez. (English, Spanish dialogue)

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‘Fallout’ Finds the Fun in an Apocalyptic Hellscape

TV’s latest big-ticket video game adaptation, from the creators of “Westworld,” takes a satirical, self-aware approach to the End Times.

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By Austin Considine

The scream was just right — bloodcurdling, if also very funny — and the practical effects crew had finally found the proper volume and trajectory of the water cannon. The idea was to film what might happen if you ripped a man from the throat of a mutant salamander, exploding its guts like a giant water balloon.

All that remained was to decide what color of bile to slather on the actor (Johnny Pemberton) and on the salamander’s many teeth, which nuclear radiation had transformed into rows of humanlike fingers.

Based on observations made during a visit to the Brooklyn set of “Fallout” in early 2023, Amazon had spared no expense to make the show, the latest genre-bending series from Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the creators of “Westworld.” So it was no surprise when Nolan, on set to direct that chilly afternoon, was presented with not one but some half-dozen buckets of bile to choose from, in a variety of revolting hues. He settled on a pukey pinkish yellow.

“This is the closest thing to comedy that I’ve worked on,” he said later by phone. With writing credits on films like “Memento,” “The Dark Knight” and “The Prestige,” Nolan has tended to skew dark. Comically exploding monster guts — this was new territory.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said.

A fun apocalypse? Amid all the doom and gloom of most sci-fi spectacles and social media feeds? Yes, please.

“Fallout” premieres Wednesday on Prime Video, and at first it may sound familiar to viewers of a certain postapocalyptic HBO hit from last year, “The Last of Us.” Imagine: a sprawling, expensive adaptation of a beloved videogame franchise that features an unlikely duo — a nihilistic old gunslinger with a tortured past and a tough young woman whose mission overlaps with his. Together, they travel a lawless America plagued by criminals, fanatics, killer mutants and trigger-happy survivors.

But where “The Last of Us” had a decidedly serious and heartfelt tone, “Fallout,” in keeping with its source material, is satirical and self-aware, rich with ironic detail. Sets and costumes lovingly blend B-movie conventions from multiple genres, including westerns, horror and Atomic Age sci-fi. The violence is comically over-the-top.

That unlikely duo? The man (Walton Goggins) is a disfigured former western star who, among other things, puts the woman (Ella Purnell) on a leash and tries to hawk her organs. Their overlapping mission? To find a severed head.

“I am still wrapping my head around it to be quite honest with you,” Goggins said during a brief production break on set. He was dressed in the kind of immaculate Hollywood cowboy duds — think golden fringe and a tidy matching neckerchief — that a real cowboy might spit a beer on.

“It’s ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ meets. …” He paused, searched for the perfect comparison. “It’s ‘Strangelove’ meets the ‘Star Wars’ bar.”

Until recently, live-action video game adaptations were mostly a losing proposition for television. “The Last of Us” by most accounts broke the streak . A commercial and critical darling, it earned eight Primetime Emmys in January, and its 24 total nominations included one for best drama.

Such success seemed remote five years ago, when Nolan had his first conversations with Bethesda Game Studios, the company that owns the Fallout franchise. An avid gamer, Nolan had long been a fan. The original game, which debuted in 1997, established the premise: In an alternative America, the postwar optimism and kitschy aesthetics of the Eisenhower Era never ended, only evolved. There was no Vietnam, no Watergate, no Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. Then in 2077, a nuclear war between the United States and China wiped out modern civilization worldwide.

Those who could afford it retreated into vast underground networks of shelters, known as vaults, until it was safe to come out. The game begins in 2161 when a “vault-dweller,” who has never known anything but the Beaver Cleaver-ish culture preserved underground, ventures into the irradiated wastelands around Los Angeles on a vital mission. (Later games travel to other cities and times.)

Several Fallout adaptations had been aborted or turned down over the years, said Todd Howard, Bethesda’s executive producer, who is also an executive producer of the show. After seeing and loving “Westworld,” however, Howard approached Nolan and Joy. He had heard Nolan was a gamer.

“He had clearly played a lot,” Howard said — Fallout 3 especially. “He could speak to it with authenticity and had a view of what made it tick.” (“Fallout 3 was a game that you could play comfortably for 50 to 100 hours,” Nolan said.)

Bethesda’s priorities were twofold: A TV series had to stay true to the lore of the games but also be written like a whole new chapter, same as any game sequel.

“It was very important to us not to have a show that translated one particular game story but that told something original,” Howard said. “The main character in the Fallout series is the world of Fallout.”

Amazon signed on to produce in 2020, part of an overall deal with Nolan and Joy’s production company, Kilter Films. To begin building the Fallout world, Kilter brought in two creator-showrunners: One, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, had written scripts for big adaptations before, including “Tomb Raider” (2018) and “Captain Marvel” (2019); the other, Graham Wagner, was a TV comedy writer, with credits on “Baskets,” “Silicon Valley” and 50 episodes of “Portlandia.”

For them it was a “best of both worlds” situation. They had been given a trove of intellectual property to start with, already popular among millions. But they also had freedom to simply craft a good story without worrying so much about satisfying gamer fan police.

“The fans of the games want to hear us say that we take the I.P. seriously,” Wagner said in a joint interview with Robertson-Dworet. “Of course we do, because we like it. But you don’t want to let that burden make it feel like a job. Because then everyone’s watching you do a job, and then it just feels like work.”

Robertson-Dworet later added, laughing: “We talk a lot about the [expletive] we’re going to eat for the show. It’s going to be either too woke, too fascist, not fascist enough. … ” She trailed off. The possibilities were endless.

In a separate video call, Kyle MacLachlan, who plays a guest role in the show, didn’t seem worried. And he knows something about protective fan bases. (See: David Lynch’s “Dune.” Or David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks: The Return.”)

“I think it’s evident, when you look at the sets and the production value and the tone of the show, that they’re making a big effort to try to incorporate the reality of that world,” he said. “It’s a perfect place to put a story.”

For all the new material, fans of the game will find plenty that is familiar about the story. The show’s other male lead, Aaron Moten, plays an initiate of the Brotherhood of Steel, a fanatical warrior faction found in all of the games. (They suit up in Iron Man-like robotic armor that, 219 years after the end of modern civilization, is prone to breaking down.) Though Purnell’s character arrives over 130 years after the events of the first game, she draws heavily from it.

“She goes up to the wasteland, and she finds out that everything she ever believed is a lie,” Purnell said on a video call with Moten. “It makes her start to question everything,” she added. “And she has to make that choice, right? Adapt or die. Who’s she going to be?”

However fans respond to “Fallout,” no one can doubt the creators’ commitment. Back in Brooklyn in early 2023, a set tour with the show’s production designer, Howard Cummings, offered a glimpse of the massive scope. Indoors, a mazelike series of corridors and chambers amounted to a multilevel reproduction of the vaults. Outdoors, a ramshackle junk city included whole buses and the front end of a 747 jet, trucked in from California. The New York production alone had 35 welders working at once, Cummings said.

This was to say nothing of the location shoots in the Utah desert, or on the Skeleton Coast in Namibia , a stand-in for a postapocalyptic Pacific Palisades, all shot on widescreen film instead of digital. (“The power of dragging yourself to a beautiful and remote place to capture that beauty on film, it still works,” Nolan said. “It always works.”) Or of the 360-degree virtual soundstage, made up of thousands of LED tiles — for when you need the location to come to you.

“New York didn’t have one,” Cummings said. “But it does now!”

Unsurprisingly, “Fallout” looks great. Still, all the money in Amazon’s coffers can’t make a show good, and the streamer, which declined to share budget numbers, has reportedly spent hundreds of millions of dollars on large-scale series, like “Citadel” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” that have yet to make much of an impact with viewers or critics. Amid the glut of heavier end-times material out there, it seemed like a refreshing start, at least, that the “Fallout” creators’ goal was to entertain viewers, not pile onto them.

Nolan called making it an “expiating” experience: Coming out of a pandemic, amid global instability and a deterioration of political discourse, you had to laugh sometimes, he said.

“It’s the only way to make it through.”

Because of a surprise programming change by Amazon the night before publication, an earlier version of this article misstated the premiere date of “Fallout.” It is Wednesday, April 10, not Thursday.

How we handle corrections

Austin Considine is The Times's assistant TV editor. More about Austin Considine

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Move over, 'The Last of Us' — 'Fallout' is the next great video-game adaptation

• Amazon's TV series "Fallout" is based on the hugely popular games by Interplay and Bethesda SoftWorks.
• The show follows a young woman looking for her missing father in a postapocalyptic world.
• "Fallout" embraces the exploratory spirit of the games but tells an original story.

Video games are notoriously difficult to adapt for film and TV successfully.

HBO's " The Last of Us " was a hit, flooring fans and critics alike with its strong performances and dedication to the source material.

But many less-than-stellar adaptations ("Prince of Persia, "Hitman," "Warcraft," "Monster Hunter") failed to win audiences over.

Players have flocked to the " Fallout " games since 1997 to fight off raiders and slay monsters in a retrofuturistic wasteland ravaged by nuclear war.

With so much material at hand — four main games and several spinoffs — attempting a live-action adaptation that captures the hallmark intriguing character arcs, fast-paced combat, and open-world exploration is an unenviable task.

The makers of Prime Video's "Fallout" were wise, then, to develop a TV show with an original storyline that does indeed capture the games' sense of adventure and mystery.

The show focuses on Lucy MacLean ( Ella Purnell ), a young woman who has lived her entire life in the underground bunker Vault 33, one of many shelters across America where thousands of people sought protection from a nuclear war between the US and China.

When Lucy's father, Hank MacLean ( Kyle MacLachlan ), is kidnapped by invaders from the outside world, she decides to leave the safety of the vault to find him.

At first blush, it's similar to "The Last of Us," which faithfully followed the events of its games, also focusing on a postapocalyptic journey and a father-daughter-esque relationship.

But with "Fallout," executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy take the opposite tack.

Related stories

Aside from the vaults, the weapons, and other recognizable "Fallout" imagery, this is a completely original story that manages to blend seamlessly with the world of the games. It's a smart choice, as the beauty of the games lies in exploring the truly bizarre world in which the story unfolds.

Lucy MacLean's story embraces the spirit of the games

While the drive to find Hank is the catalyst for Lucy braving the postapocalyptic wasteland, her story is really about learning who she is away from her isolated upbringing in Vault 33.

That means the audience learns everything it needs to know through Lucy's point of view, cleverly making the story accessible to newcomers, while seasoned fans can still enjoy the glut of Easter eggs and references.

Players will recognize the way Lucy has to figure out how to navigate the dangers of the wasteland, which echoes the start of the game. (Top tip: Don't drink the irradiated water.)

After leaving her comfy underground home, the naive vault dweller quickly gets tangled up with an enigmatic bounty hunter called The Ghoul (Walton Goggins), as well as a militaristic group called the Brotherhood of Steel.

Anyone who's ever played a "Fallout" game knows how easy it is to get sidetracked by different factions, gangs, and cults after starting even the simplest mission.

Thankfully, Lucy never gets too distracted, and her journey widens her perspective of what's happened since the bombs fell 200 years ago. This forces her to reckon with the fact that she will never return to her squeaky-clean, comfortable life in the vault, meaning viewers actually care about her as a character when the bloody action scenes inevitably come along.

A pitch-perfect script drives the narrative forward, making clever use of the franchise's satirical take on consumerism, the Red Scare , and Hollywood.

Game players will also be pleased that the games' warped sense of humor isn't lost in translation to screen: whether that's a member of the Brotherhood running away from a mutated bear repeatedly screaming "Fuck!" as any player would, or a gleefully murderous robot voiced by Matt Berry trying to steal Lucy's internal organs.

Sure, the world has gone to hell, but at least it's funny.

By leaning into the world of "Fallout" rather than adapting a specific game or storyline, Prime Video found a way to bring this wacky, wonderful wasteland to life in all of its unhinged glory. It's an utter treat.

"Fallout" streams on Prime Video on April 10.

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The Beautiful Game Reviews

There's hardly anything in “The Beautiful Game” that audiences have not seen a thousand times before. And that's unfortunate, because the Homeless World Cup has dramatic potential that transcends the underdog story archetype.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 8, 2024

The storytelling feels mechanical and rushed; very inelegant — more English Premier League than the Spanish La Liga.

Full Review | Apr 7, 2024

I love this movie. It's as ordinary as the dirt you play soccer on, but I don't care. It's fantastic.

Full Review | Apr 5, 2024

Ultimately, this is an underdog story, but a well-told one and quite inclusive.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Apr 4, 2024

The Beautiful Game is a story head and shoulders above the rest, even if the road map is particularly familiar to the usual genre film destination.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Apr 4, 2024

Though not impervious to cliched moments, this is an uplifting sports drama with a redemptive message elevated by Bill Nighy's performance and an energetic turn by Susan Wokoma.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Apr 4, 2024

There are some loose ends, but they can be overlooked thanks to the good intentions and a marvellous Bill Nighy...

Full Review | Apr 3, 2024

While there's a sense of predictability with this British sports drama, as it follows all the familiar beats associated with the genre, there's still much to enjoy.

An ugly waste of two hours and five minutes.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 3, 2024

Inspired by real events, this warm and witty British football drama is packed with engaging characters and situations, nicely directed by Thea Sharrock.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 2, 2024

The Beautiful Game banks on its undeniable warmth, Ward’s strong central performance and the handful of wrinkles in the story that prevent it from becoming fully formulaic.

Full Review | Apr 1, 2024

More than just a film about football, The Beautiful Game stands as a tribute to human resilience and the power of sport to unite people beyond their circumstances. [Full review in Spansih]

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Apr 1, 2024

You can see how these might be stories borrowed from real participants. That may fit with the movie’s it’s-all-good-here ethos, but wouldn’t it make more sense for a series of episodes devoting time to each story?

Full Review | Mar 31, 2024

The film rolls along smoothly like many a British sitcom, finding its humor largely in mild embarrassment, ironic understatement and well-rehearsed comic timing.

Full Review | Mar 29, 2024

The Beautiful Game won't change the world - that stuff is left to things such as the real Homeless World Cup -- but it's a solid and entertaining film that should put a smile on your face.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 29, 2024

This is another admirable addition to a subgenre that relies heavily on the appeal of its cast. The Beautiful Game scores big time in that regard.

It’s a film about finding hope and becoming a part of something even in the face of adverse life situations. And it succeeds in delivering its message without falling into the trap of being too preachy.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Mar 29, 2024

It'll be a hard soul to not be uplifted by the movie's triumph-over-adversity story arc, with engaging performances sweeping you along with the drama of the matches even when the outcome feels obvious.

You can see the ending from a mile away. But that does not stop you from cheering the various teams of unhoused players.

Other than the concept, there’s not much new in the way this is presented and unfortunately our main protagonist feels more like an unapologetic villain for so much of the film.

• Cast & crew

Challengers

Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach is married to a champion on a losing streak. Her strategy for her husband's redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against his f... Read all Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach is married to a champion on a losing streak. Her strategy for her husband's redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against his former best friend and Tashi's former boyfriend. Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach is married to a champion on a losing streak. Her strategy for her husband's redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against his former best friend and Tashi's former boyfriend.

• Luca Guadagnino
• Justin Kuritzkes
• Josh O'Connor
• 36 Critic reviews
• 88 Metascore
• 1 nomination

• Tashi Donaldson

• Art Donaldson

• Patrick Zweig
• Umpire (New Rochelle Final)

• Art's Physiotherapist

• Art's Security Guard
• (as a different name)
• Tashi's Mother
• Line Judge (New Rochelle Final)
• TV Sports Commentator (Atlanta 2019)

• Leo Du Marier

• Woman With Headset (Atlanta 2019)

• Motel Front Desk Clerk
• Motel Husband

• New Rochelle Parking Lot Guard
• USTA Official …
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• April 26, 2024 (United States)
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• Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Pascal Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 11 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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