Not a basketball fan? Don’t worry. Disney’s new flick isn’t just about the greatest college basketball story of all time; it’s about the heart and soul behind it.

“Glory Road” tells the true story of Texas Western, the first college basketball team to start 5 African American players in the NCAA championship—and win. Starring Josh Lucas (“Sweet Home Alabama”, “Stealth”) as Coach Don Haskins and a handful of other virtually unknown actors, this film runs solely on the story instead of star power. I don’t even know who the majority of the actors were, but their characters are stuck in my head. In short, the acting in the movie was outstanding. And not just in parts. The whole movie was filled with brilliant, passionate, captivating acting.

The film starts quickly and keeps its momentum all the way through. Its powerful story is set in El Paso, Texas during the 1960s at Texas Western University. The film focuses almost solely on the basketball team from recruiting players to winning the NCAA championship in 1966. Usually, I’m not a fan of predictable movies; however, this one is an exception. “Glory Road” doesn’t just tell the story of one of the greatest sports moments; it shows what it took to get there. One of the first things you see on the screen are the words “Based on the true story.” If you keep that in mind throughout the film, it will just blow you away. I still can’t believe how much passion Haskins had for his team or how drastically he challenged the times by handpicking 7 African Americans to play for him and then starting 5 of them in the championship.

Everything the team went through to get to the championship really tugs at your heartstrings. Set in a time of little to no racial tolerance, the film accurately depicts it. The looks. The booing crowds. The graffiti. The violence. All of it was there, and it left me sick at times. It’s hard to believe that our country was once that racist and, in some places, still is. At some parts, I found myself holding back tears because I just couldn’t believe what was happening. Here’s a great team- dedicated, hardworking, passionate- and people can’t stand them just because 7 of the 12 of them are black. ‘They didn’t deserve it,’ I remember thinking. But you can’t change history, you can only learn from it, and I believe that’s one of the messages Disney hopes to convey in this movie. Just by seeing the team’s dedication and the way they held their heads high and overcame every obstacle they were presented with, I’m in awe at how they handled it.

I have to admit, I am a basketball fan. I was enthralled by the basketball scenes, which there were a lot of. I think one reason I really liked this movie was because of that, to be totally honest. But overall, I don’t think it matters. To me, Disney has a way of depicting great moments in sports history. They put an underlying theme in all their sports films, and in “Glory Road” the theme seems to be just to try hard and never give up. Haskins pushed his team to the edge both on and off the court. They challenged everything and ultimately changed the way the game is played.

At times, “Glory Road” has some striking similarities to one of Disney’s other films “Remember the Titans.” With a racial tone to both the films, there were bound to be similarities from the beginning, especially when Jerry Bruckheimer produced both. But those similarities are few and far between. In the end, I’d go as far as to say that “Glory Road” is better than “Remember the Titans,” something I never thought I’d say.

I went into this movie with high expectations, and every expectation I had was surpassed. I’ll flat out tell you that I really have nothing bad to say about “Glory Road.” Nothing. I felt that the money I paid to see the movie was well worth it, and I won’t be surprised if I’m in the theater seeing “Glory Road” for a third or fourth time. This is one of the few movies that I’ll remember for quite some time and would recommend to anyone.

5 out of 5 stars