Chasing Great

A documentary on New Zealand rugby legend Richie McCaw. The documentary focuses on the All Blacks' 2015 campaign to win back-to-back World Cups, making the All Blacks the first team to do so. It is also McCaw's swansong and he wants to go out on top.

A good documentary on one of the greatest rugby players of all time. While focusing on the 2015 World Cup the documentary does also cover McCaw's childhood and early playing career. It also focuses on setback and milestones leading up to the 2015 World Cup, in particular the lessons learned from the disappointment of the 2007 World Cup and the breakthrough that was the 2011 World Cup.

Some good footage from relevant games and decent interviews with family, friends, fellow players, coaches and McCaw himself.

Not brilliant though. The concentration on the 2015 World Cup makes the focus quite narrow and we miss a lot of detail and development. For example, we see McCaw's Test debut in 2001 but then nothing between then and the 2007 World Cup. Games shown are almost entirely World Cup ones - the only non-WC ones shown are the ones that are in the lead-up to a World Cup. I would have preferred a more complete history, rather than such a selective one.

Gosh our media are out of whack. Having read some of the critics reviews on Chasing Great, I went along expecting to see an doco of Richie's life without any great insights into his character. Luckily for me they were so wrong!! The reviews stating that Richie does not open up implies to me that either they really just don't get it; or lack the emotional intelligence to recognise the messages in this doco. Or they are just miserable beggars with nothing good to say about anything that's not quirky dark art house. Lucky for us, the NZ public seems to have a higher level of EQ than the average reviewer, and have fed this back via their social media channels which is overwhelmingly positive.

There has even been anecdotal evidence of the way this doco has inspired the young folk of New Zealand. This week MAGs first fifteen won the National Championship. MAGS.Interestingly, they had just taken a team trip to the doco. " t was revealed, they (sic) had viewed the Chasing Great movie as a team on the Saturday and drew some inspiration from that Richie McCaw biopic.

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this journey. I laughed and cried (even though Richie didn't). I felt inspired by his open and driven mindset to set goals of my own. I relived moments in sporting history - with sweaty hands over my eyes, my brain tricking me into believing that I didn't know the outcome. When the final World Cup was won and Richie's childhood haka played under this scene, it was a moment of pure magic for me, connecting this legend to the person he had become. This sent shivers down my spine.

If I could change one thing - if time had allowed I would have loved to have seen more of the mental side of Richie's preparation, with Ceri Evans. Overall, going again.......and probably again........and will add the DVD to the Santa list

This was a well made documentary. It oozes with authenticity and Richie's humility comes through in reassuring way. Chasing Great plays around with three timelines throughout its story telling, which keeps you on your toes. One of these is the weeks building up to the 2015 World Cup, another is Richie's childhood, and the last story is his rugby journey from high school to RWC 2011. These are all woven into each other masterfully. Thankfully the soundtrack adds to the movie in a way that doesn't over do it all. It helps to tell the rise and fall and rise again of Richie's story without a hint of arrogance or cockiness. Richie is shown to be someone who has faults, his brokenness and struggles as a captain are shown fully on display. This is the most interesting part of the movie for me, as it shows us all that we don't have to have it altogether, even the greatest fall. I myself had huge doubts in my moments of leadership and it was reassuring to see this in someone who performs on an international stage. This movie does a very good tribute to Richie and shows how truly down to earth he is.

As a kiwi is an amazing watch, really well made and comes across in a really authentic way. Great story but really goes deep into what it takes to succeed at the top of sport. If your a rugby fan you will love this.

Contains all the highs and the lows Richie McCaw went through but also doesn't show too much Rugby with the focus more on the back story.

Lots of cool slow mo's and some gorgeous New Zealand scenery.

The only captain to win two rugby world cups this is history really well captured on film. He is a legend of the game but also down to earth and this film really captures that. This is probably the golden era of NZ rugby captured superbly.

10 out of 10.

UPDATE: This review is not meant to change opinions, and it is okay if you like the movie. I am not trying to offend people who like this film. If you have already watched the film, and enjoyed it, please ignore this review, as I am not trying to anger anybody. Thank you.

If you're a huge fan of the All Blacks, or you're a fan of Richie, you'll love this documentary to bits. The documentary is very inspiring, and tells us that you can be anything, even if you are just a small town country kid who lives in New Zealand. That is a good message to put out. However, as I'm not a Richie fan, or a rugby fan, I didn't seem to enjoy this documentary, so I was walking into the cinema with low expectations. So, I didn't exactly enjoy this because I wasn't a fan of Richie McCaw, nor was I a fan of documentaries. However, if you like documentaries and New Zealand Rugby, then this is perfect for you. You'll like this film if you know what you are getting into. If it looks like a good documentary, you'll like it. If it looks terrible, you won't. Simple as that. It's all really a matter of opinion, and I hope not to anger anybody that enjoys the movie. Hopefully you enjoy the movie more than I do.

Overall, my personal opinion is 5.9/10, however, I'd give it a 8.4/10. This review is not meant to be offensive, so I'm very sorry if I upset your day. It's perfectly fine if you like this movie.