Hollywood is one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world. Every year many movie releases and few of them leave a good impact. Sports has everything that makes good content for a movie. Firstly, sports are truly unpredictable, full of drama and excitement. Secondly, it has a thrill that keeps you to the edge of the seat. The stories and narratives that follow players or teams struggle throughout a season can easily dovetail with a blueprint for a feature film to a silver screen hit.
There is no surprise with the fact that plenty of attempts already been made to bring those stories into the movies. Moreover, currently, 4403 movie titles appear under the sports genre on IMDb. But to be honest, even with good and realistic content, creating a great sports movie is a tough task. It is not everyone’s cup of coffee. We have analyzed various things and find out what makes a great sports movie. Let us check them out.
1. It Should Be Realistic
For every sports movie to be a great sports movie, one must believe that the actual events of the movie could really happen. The reason why sport is a popular choice for filmmakers is because of the feelings that they invoke. Sports have emotions. If all those emotions are portrayed properly then it’s a perfect movie fodder. If the content is not convincing and does not give the feeling of realism than even a serious movie ends up being a parody. Remember, the free-kick scene from the movie Bend It Like Beckham!. This is the reason why it does not impress many people.
The level of realism can be achieved by recreating professional sports. To everyone’s knowledge, out of IMDb’s top 50 sports films, 30 centers around professionals. The movie based on MMA is included in those 30 and has an outstanding rating of 8.2. It is the highest for any sports movie on IMDb. Tom Hardy, a lead actor in the movie told that the fight scenes were so true to life that he broke his ribs and tore the ligaments in his right arm during shooting.
There is another way to make sports movies feel more convincing. It is by connecting to the real-life stories. Out of the top 50 films, 31 movies are either based on true events or biographical. It is also easy to portray something real if it has happened.
2. Strong Story And Compelling Hero
Any good sports movie should revolve around sports, but it should also have a captivating story build-up. Else it will feel like highlights of any game. It is the backstory of the hero that keeps you engaged. For a great sports movie, it is better to be a singular character. 27 out of 50 sports movie focuses on individual sports rather than the ones that played in a team. It is practically much easier to narrate the story of an individual rather than a big team.
3. Boxing Is The Best Content
Boxing is the better sport suited to cinema. 14 out of the top 50 movies are about combat sports boxing, karate, wrestling, and MMA. Even three movies in the top 50 to have won Best Picture at the Oscars, two are about boxing – Million Dollar Baby and Rocky. In these movies, the story revolves around the main character and sports works as a metaphor. The fights, action scenes, and boxing, makes it a treat to watch a movie.
4. Movie Should End In Triumph
There are some sports movies that do not end happily or victory for the main character. Sports are not always about winning or losing. It is the journey that is important. But the moviegoers still wants to celebrate at the end. A great movie ends at a winning note where the individual or team winning the event and the story revolves around it. The movies with the most memorable sporting stories are those that end up on a winning note or ended in a triumph. 24 movies, out of 31 sports movies on the list based on real-life events have a happy ending.
These are the various things that make a great sports movie. Which of the sports movie is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
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