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Sports movies, in a way, are like murder mysteries. The denoument of plots in both genres follow a simple, predictable pattern. The athlete or team in a sports movie must train hard, and then overcome obstacles and challenges on the way to the Big Game, which they will either win or lose, depending on what kind of movie it is. Murder mysteries aren't that different; the detective interprets the clues, overcoming obstacles and challenges along the way before the identity of the murderer is uncovered. These genres work (to the extent that they do) on the drama created in the struggles getting to the Big Game or the courtroom showdown, not necessarily on the actual conclusion of those events. (If you want proof of this, watch an old Columbo rerun; the Columbo shows always gave away the ending at the first and then made the drama hinge on whether Peter Falk could figure out the clues or not.) When watching a movie like Remember The Titans, we know going in that the team is going to win the Big Game; the only question is how. (And of course we know they're going to win; they simply don't make movies about teams that lose the big game. Anyone seen any movies about the Buffalo Bills lately?) In Remember The Titans, we know going in that the "how" is going to be more difficult than usual. Remember The Titans commemmorates the first racially integrated team to win the Virginia high school championship. (I will be generous here and not point out that the Virginia high school football tradition can't hold a candle to the Texas "Friday Night Lights" tradition, but you knew that already, didn't you?) Under the tutelage of their coach, the redoubtable Denzel Washington, the Titans must find a way to play together, to trust each other, to be one team, and to fight, fight, fight their way to victory for the good old school, rah rah rah.
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