If you’re going to make that point with a Tom Cruise movie why not use Days of Thunder since it’s actually about a sport. Plus it’s based on a true story.
Same director…and really same movie.
Planes are so much cooler than going left for 200 miles.
Oh, I forgot. Adam Corolla’s “The Hammer” is one of the best sports movies I’ve ever seen.
Actually, I’m saying none of those things.
For me, a “sports movie” is more about team sports. Martial arts movies are sort of their own genre or series of sub-genres. Most martial arts movies are essentially revenge plots. I’m looking at a shelf full of martial arts DVDs right now, and Shaolin Soccer, which is also a comedy, is the only one I would consider a “sports movie.” I think it’s a bit of a reach as it is.
I mentioned all this because I did not include some really good movies that could be perceived as “sports movies” by other people (notably Raging Bull). To me, Raging Bull, Pride of the Yankees, and The Babe Ruth Story are “sports movies,” but they are also first and foremost biopics.
Is Rocky a sports movie? It’s not a biopic.
I don’t know if it’s the best, but it’s my favorite.
If two grown men fighting over a belt and a purse is a sport, then Rocky is a sports movie, I guess.
(Apologies to George Carlin…)
The Natural is likely my favorite sports movie, with Hoosiers a close second.
However, I am glad you posted this. I saw The Hammer on a fluke, never heard of it, only kept watching it because this guy from The Man Show was in it, I was waiting for the punchline. Then I kept watching because it was an “every man” making good style show. I was surprised, Adam Corolla pulled it off well, and I liked the show. Dunno if a top 10 sports movie, but it was good.
+1 on Hoosiers.
I liked The Natural as well.
If racing is a sport, then Death Race 2000.
YES! I Love Rudy! Best Movie Ever! 😍 ❤️
There’s an awful lot of character stuff in Rocky, but if we define “sports movie” as a movie where the drama is centered around a sporting event, the characters are participants, and the audience is invested in the outcome, then yeah.
(For me, it’s a toss-up between Creed and Rocky.)
Raging Bull
I’m going to cheat and say that it’s Friday Night Lights, the TV Show.
While not best, I thought Goon was surprisingly good.
I was gonna mention Goon as my third choice, after Rocky and The Natural
Creed was even better than Rocky. I can’t think of another sports movie I would put on the same level.
Personal favorites would be Blades of Glory, Shaolin Soccer, and maybe Whip It, but none of them are great movies, per say.
I don’t get all the fawning over Creed. Competently made, yes, one of the top 3 Rocky movies, perhaps, but… I didn’t understand what was so extra-magical about it.
If it had been “Drago”, I could understand.
Easily the best baseball movie, if only because it’s the only one in which the actors look like they actually know how to play the game:
Bull Durham