A prepubescent chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
While chess has never been my game, it is something I can probably identify with a bit better than basketball (see "Hoop Dreams"), so this fictionalized story of a real-life prodigy is a story I can get behind. Of course, it is not very cinematic to just show two hours of people playing chess. And that leads the film's flaw: the narrative is good, but not incredibly engaging. Also, if you just guessed the whole story, you probably guessed right.
But the performances make up for any shortcomings. Some really fine actors get to be supporting cast to this little guy. Ben Kingsley, Denzel Washington, Tony Shalhoub, and more. The young actor probably had no idea how cool it was to be working with these folks.
While chess has never been my game, it is something I can probably identify with a bit better than basketball (see "Hoop Dreams"), so this fictionalized story of a real-life prodigy is a story I can get behind. Of course, it is not very cinematic to just show two hours of people playing chess. And that leads the film's flaw: the narrative is good, but not incredibly engaging. Also, if you just guessed the whole story, you probably guessed right.
But the performances make up for any shortcomings. Some really fine actors get to be supporting cast to this little guy. Ben Kingsley, Denzel Washington, Tony Shalhoub, and more. The young actor probably had no idea how cool it was to be working with these folks.