The movie is about redemption and how redemption sometimes just passes by due to circumstances outside our control. It is Bad News Bears-esque from the white guy character Reeves plays. But this is also about inner city kids, project kids with no real hope once they get to a certain age. It shows how quickly something wonderful for that part of America can get flipped upside down in a moment. I gave it a 10 because the kids are fantastic, Reeves is fantastic and the script is great. It's a tear jerker and a happy story at the same time, much like the lives it's trying to get the viewer to see from a new angle. Side Note to my fellow Cine reviewers. It's really sad a great movie like this gets only a 6 average, but we all know it's because it's a "black" movie. You look at every score average in Cinetrac and our own biases and racism shine through over and over where black movies consistently get lower scores even when they are clearly better acting, better scripts, and better directing. This movie is that exact example of a 9/10 being underrated by people who don't see themselves, missing the point it's supposed to get us to see others.

>"I love it when you call me big poppa!" The first half of this movie felt very mediocre, but the second half was very touching and caught me off guard. I felt for the kids and know that many need some form of coach/routine in their lives.

It's crazy to me that Reeves got pigeon holed as a bad/dumb actor because of Bill & Ted. He's clearly a good actor.

"I love it when you call me big poppa!" So going into Hardball blind not knowing what it was about and seeing the first 10 minutes, I didn't expect this movie to end like this. I didn't anticipate G-Baby's death to hit me this hard and this movie made me listen to "Big Poppa" again. Still such a good song. Keanu Reeves isn't really that special here. It looks like he's just acting on auto-pilot but it didn't hurt my enjoyment of the movie much. All those damn kids are so fun and seeing Michael B. Jordan this young brought me straight back to Wallace. I really enjoy Michael B. Jordan in the Wire as Wallace. Anyway, Hardball is a sports-movie basically by the numbers but the kids are fun, the soundtrack is nostalgic for me and I never expected to hear DMX's Party Up censored in a movie. In the beginning you watch this movie probably because you like to see more of Keanu Reeves but in the end you'll stay for the kids.

Hardball is a classic example of the formulaic underdog sports movie, hitting every beat you'd expect. If you're in the mood for that predictable yet comforting cinematic experience, it will certainly entertain you enough. Think of it as Bad News Bears but without the laughs, delivering more heartwarming earnestness than comedic relief.