Paynbob
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
rmgoogbono
Running is one of my favorite activities, so I found this movie and wanted to see what it was about...Prefontaine was an outstanding American runner, never heard of him until I stumped into this movie, (starring Jared Leto, who I think is perfect for portraying a runner)... I like people like Steve Prefontaine who didn't leave this world without being remembered, despite dying at such young age...and who are moved by their heart, nothing can stop them, it's very inspiring. I enjoyed this movie from 1997, the 90's seem not too long ago but when you watch those movies makes you think it was a 'while ago' already , and the movie is set in 1972 so it feels even 'older'. I also enjoyed the acting, but the fact that it is a real story, and the fact that it happened during a world known tragedy (The massacre during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich) that touched the life of this athlete, makes it more interesting, so is not just a movie about runners.
TxMike
Some years ago I had seen the 1998 movie about Prefontaine starring Billy Crudup and really enjoyed it. Now I have found this version with Jared Leto on Netflix streaming movies. It is very well done with generous old stock footage used too. In fact Leto is so good in this role it is often hard to tell if we are seeing him or the real Prefontaine in some running scenes.I remember Prefontaine well from the early 1970s because I was a young adult then and still an avid track and field fan. It is too bad his life and running career were cut so short with the automobile accident.A good segment of the middle of the movie depicts the 1972 Munich Olympics, the one where Arab militants killed some Israelis, and throwing the games into turmoil. Pre's big race, the 5K run, was held anyway and going for gold, in the last few meters just lost 3rd place, and a medal, by a fraction. Thus the comment, "They might name 4th street after me." Jared Leto is Steve Prefontaine, R. Lee Ermey is good as coach Bill Bowerman who invented the "waffle sole" running shoe and went on to establish the company Nike. And Amy Locane is good as Pre's girlfriend Nancy Alleman.Those who are indifferent to track and field might not enjoy this movie, but for us fans it is truly a fine movie.
icegini
The only reason why I watched this movie was the actor Jared Leto and at the beginning it kind of looked like a slow, boring movie. I was so wrong and am now so happy to have seen it. Jared Leto did such a great job and the movie was done very well too. The story, the movie is great! Often this kind of movies about someone real can be a bit dry. Like it is just the telling of facts about a great person.But not in this movie. Prefontaine was giving facts, but also a story and a very moving, filled story. I don't only want to find out more about Fontaine, but like someone else in a review said, after watching the movie you just want to go outside and start running! I loved the very end of the movie.
bob the moo
Since he was young, Steve Prefontaine was always too short, too skinny or too slow to be the first choice for any sports – a thing that only made him work harder to become whatever he felt he needed to be and to make the most of any chance given to him. At age 16 he decides that he is not only to be a runner but that he will be representing his country in Munich at the 1972 Olympics. Training hard for the mile event, his coach at Oregon State, Bill Bowerman convinces him to focus on the three-mile and make the media interested in it. Keeping his goal of getting three seconds faster every year of university, Pre gets closer to his Munich date while his reputation as a cocky yet gutsy athlete grows.First of all, I, unlike many other thoughtless reviewers have put a spoiler warning on this review because I, like countless others, had never heard of Steve Prefontaine and therefore didn't know how the film would end; didn't know, that is, until the very plot outline on this site proclaimed it. Anyway, despite this I decided to watch it because it didn't strike me as the sort of film that knowing the end mattered (of course I would rather have been allowed to decide that for myself). From the start of the film a picture is painted of Preforntaine as a cocky but driven individual who worked to overcome anything that life threw in his way but was ultimately (and untimely) beaten by the obstacle that defeats us all. In telling this story the film tries to develop a character while also making sure it delivers the basic memorable moments in his career. As such it doesn't quite succeed but then I suppose it depends what the audience is; if you know all the milestones then it is likely that the film might bore as its focus is really on the "what happened" rather than the "who". However for a viewer like me who didn't know it then it does enough to be interesting. The docu-drama approach worked better than I expected it would and the film does have a good pace (sorry) to it and, because it made Prefontaine an interesting character it actually made for a quite emotional film.The cast work pretty well; certainly Leto's presence had me worried but he not only had a good resemblance but did well with the material he was given. His character is not a complex person, but then with biographical films it is always difficult to write such a character and usually it is more effective to condense them down to the essence of who they were. Ermey is good value here in one of only three films where he doesn't play some sort of sergeant-major (I'm joking but it feels like it could be true) and is a nicely grizzled character. Support from O'Neill, Meyer and others is OK but really the film belongs to the lead two and, although Leto is hardly the life of the film, his character's story is worth the watch.Overall this is a solid, if unspectacular film that may not win you over if you have a working knowledge of Prefontaine but, for me, it was interesting at the level that it was presented. An interesting story that told me what I needed to know – could have been better but did enough to work for me.
