Brian Banks Movie Review

The Plot and Then Some

This is a film about a football star named Brian Banks (played by Aldis Hodge) who was wrongfully convicted of raping a girl at the age of 16. The film deals with his struggle to prove his innocence by contacting Justin Brooks (played by Greg Kinnear) so he can look into his case to find a way to prove his innocence. After doing a little bit of research, I have to say that the majority of the film is pretty authentic to the real life events of Brian Banks. I went into the movie knowing that it was going to be based on a true story so I wasn’t necessarily looking for action or great visual effects, but rather an intriguing story. I will admit that when the credits rolled I didn’t know what to make of the movie because I thought to myself, “Do I judge the movie based on entertainment value or authenticity?” True stories are really tricky to criticize because there are only so many ways to translate a real life story onto the big screen, and in this film’s case, I must admit that while it does get a lot of the facts right, there isn’t much of a reason to go out and watch the movie on the big screen. This isn’t a bad movie… It is just forgettable and could have gone straight to Netflix. I was literally the only one in the theater and this film almost slipped under my radar because I didn’t hear anything about it. It was only when I found out it was playing at my local theater that I decided to go out and watch it. I am sure that a lot of people watched the trailer and immediately shrugged the movie off because they knew exactly what it was going to be: A story about a football player who was robbed of pretty much everything and has to do whatever he can to prove his innocence. They knew that the film would not be worth seeing on the big screen because true stories are truly hit and miss. If they were so interested in the life of Brian Banks then they would have just googled his story, instead of paying money to watch his story unfold. This film had some good performances but I felt like there were segments that dragged on way too long making the movie feel like twice its length.

What Did I Like?

1. I thought the performances were great! Morgan Freeman is good in every movie he is in even if he isn’t in the movie very much. He basically plays a motivational speaker role and who is a better pick to inspire hope than Morgan Freeman. I thought everybody else did a spectacular job, too. I really felt like Brian Banks was desperate to get his life back so he can fulfill his dream of playing in the NFL. I felt sorry for him because his life was pretty much ruined. If you can’t get a job or work towards making your dream come true then there isn’t much of a point in going on and I bought that sign of frustration in his character. His mother was loving and I could tell she really wanted her son to be happy, especially after all he had gone through. I thought Banks’ love interest, Karina was very well acted, too. I didn’t much care for her character since she seemed like she was only there to give Banks a romantic interest and not much else, but her performance was not bad.
2. The authenticity of the story is spot on. There are some minor differences because of legal reasons, like changing the name of the ‘victim’ but none that detracted from the overall story. I did some research on the film because I was curious to see how much they changed in the movie and I was surprised how spot on they were when it came to the facts. I have to give the film credit for giving the movie an authentic touch when they could have easily disrespected the story of Brian Banks by rewriting the story to give it that Hollywood melodramatic edge which most moviegoers, including myself, are sick of.

What I Didn’t Like?

• Even though her performance was good, I did not think Karina was necessary in the film. She does have a scene where she shares a story about her, too, being a victim but then her character just slips into the background for the rest of the run time. After doing some research, I found out that her story was fabricated for the film to give her character some ties to Banks; a way for them to share some similarities. It felt thrown in just to give him a training buddy and a romantic interest and I thought the film makers could have done a better job with her character.
• The film comes to a screeching halt during the second half when the movie flashes back to when Banks was in prison. I get what they were going for by giving Banks a reason to go on because of his teacher’s words, but it didn’t really work for me. It felt stale and I just wanted the movie to carry on from that point.
• I am not big into the law but I found it kind of sketchy when the police broke into Banks’ home to arrest him in such an over the top manner. I was thinking to myself, “Don’t they need some kind of warrant to arrest him?” and it kind of took me out of the movie. I could be wrong, but the scene was just way too over the top and it felt like Hollywood was tampering with the film to give it a more dramatic feel, but it came off as silly to me. Comment down below if you found the scene a tad bit over the top like I did.
• I felt like Brian Banks’ parole officer was good in the movie but I felt like he was there to put pressure on Banks the whole movie and that’s it. There were scenes where he showed up to add a bit more tension and drama and I did not buy into it since it seemed like his sole purpose was to provide some kind of road block for Banks. The performance was good but I thought he was a tacked on obstacle and the film would have been better with the removal of his character entirely.
  
  

In Conclusion

I found the authenticity of the film and the performances to be a highlight, but I would not recommend you to spend money at the theater to see it. It can be viewed at home if you are interested in the story of Brian Banks and you might enjoy it for what it is. I walked out of the movie with mediocre thoughts but after researching the story a bit, I decided to judge this movie based on authenticity rather than entertainment value. I would recommend you to watch it at home if you are interested in a visual representation of Banks’ story. His story can be inspirational to some because he is a character willing to do whatever it takes to be free and fulfill his lifelong dream. If you like true stories about real people then wait until it comes out on DVD to pick it up for a cheap watch. The movie is not terrible, but neither is it good. It falls somewhere in between so make sure you keep that in mind and don’t expect to be blown away. Take it for what it is and you should walk away with an okay feeling at the end. I am going to give this movie 3 stars out of 5 because of the performances and the authenticity of the story. I felt bad for Brian Banks and I did feel happy by the end of the film for his character. If you enjoyed my review of this film then be sure to pass this around on social media! I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!