Saw Remember the Titans with Spawn last night.
Overall, it's a simply dreadful bit of hackery, and I can't understand what Denzel is doing with his career.
That said, a few things stood out:
* Will Patton, like Don Cheadle, is every bit as good at playing believably warm and likeable people as he is at playing spooky sleazes.
* The assignment of character attributes between the black coach and white was a pleasant change of pace.
* While the friendship of the primary two black and white players was very hackneyed, the performances were not. I imagine that more will be heard from Ryan Hurst and Wood Harris.
* I am always a sucker for a well-presented relationship between a single parent and kid; Titans offers up one that is fresh, original, and even believable around the edges. Made all the more so by a fabulous child actor turn by Hayden Panettiere, who effortlessly convinces as Patton's football obsessed daughter. I hear she's a 4-year regular on a soap opera somewhere; the experience shows. She is, naturally, the only female character with more than three lines.
Interesting note: the movie leaves fairly little doubt that Boone's (Washington) appointment was a form of AA, that Patton's Yoast was the more experienced and competent coach. Presumably, the intent was to show that Boone just needed the opportunity to shine. At the same time, it is made abundantly clear that the Titans move beyond the good into the great because of their ferocious defense, which is entirely Patton's domain. So was this intentional?
