23 Blast

As the old adage states, "truth is better than fiction" seems to apply with so many films we have seen recently, i.e. "Zero Dark Thirty", "Pain & Gain", "When the Game Stands Tall", "Soul Surfer" and the most recent "Kill the Messenger". All of these films plus others are as diverse in their subject matter as they are in their genre. So when "23 Blast" came along with that 'based on a true story' disclaimer, as with its predecessors, I just couldn't resist.

In the prime of his youth, up and coming football star, Travis Freeman (Mark Hapka), lost his sight due to a sinus infection caused by a rare disease. Practically overnight, he became irreversibly blind, and subsequently had to cope with all the trials and tribulations awaiting him. With the love and support from his family, mom, Mary (Kim Zimmer), dad, Larry (Dylan Baker) and closest friends, Jerry Baker (Bram Hoover) and Ashley (Alexa PenaVega) and his 'tough love' physical therapist Patty Wheatley (Becky Ann Baker), he finally learned to push himself to extraordinary heights. Relying on his other senses and his instincts, he did the unthinkable! Displaying unconditional determination, he learned a lot through Coach Farris (Stephen Lang), he proved nothing could dampen the spirit of a champion.

Others to round out the cast are Max Adler as Cameron Marshall, one of the football players, Kevin Cooney as Coach Burley, Scott Sowers as Mr. Marshall, Cameron's dad, Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Dr. Connelly, Crystal Hunt as Molly, Timothy Busfield as Duncan, the Athletic Director and Fred Dalton Thomas as Coach Powers.

This was directed by newcomer, at least to the director's chair, Dylan Baker. He has a ton of acting experience, however this is his first theatrical film as director. some of the pacing was a bit stagy and looked a bit forced, but considering his minimal experience in that chair, he did an exemplary job. It was also written by first time writers for theatrical films, Bram Hoover and Toni Hoover. Even though this was based on a true story, these two still had the task of writing this story in the sequence as the original story went. There were few inconsistencies in script, but overall, this was written far better than one would think again, considering the experience. These artists will surely receive more work whether in front or behind the camera, but they were gutsy in that this director and writers were willing to go out on that precarious limb and live to tell the tale.

Hey, this, as were "Soul Surfer" and "When the Game Stands Tall" are inspirational films, and isn't it time that we learn a thing or two from others who went through, in some cases, tremendous obstacles so we hopefully can get back to trying to connect once again with each other?

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                              Rated: PG-13                                 98mins.