The Red Sneakers (2002)

Lack of good storyline.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

so many films geared for the kids/family market end up being schmaltzy and silly and lose all realism and point and end up being a pile of mush. This film centers around Reggie who has dreams of being an NBA player but is clearly not good enough to make it into the school team. After a chance encounter on the way home with practice with the excellent gregory hines, he picks up a pair of sneakers that were worn many years ago by a basketball great. When Reggie wears them, he plays like a superstar and helps his team get to the schools finals. ALong the way, director Hines (who you are never completely certain if he is someone only reggie can see) creates a lot of realism in the inner city settings and the way the kids interact with each other. There is also a very good plot line about how the kids needed to improve math and reggie helped them do this by applying math examples on the basketball court. Vincent D'Onofrio's character as a seller of sneakers/procurer of local talent was the only poor link in the movie for me. What really made the movie at the end was the impressive hoops action in the final itself, it was shot in real time and there were some excellent sequences and baskets made. This is not just a movie for kids, this tale of morality and hope and dreams will appeal to all, a really good TV movie.

The movie is a typical play sports vs. have a fulfilling life type theme and is somewhat predictable coming down to the last minute of a championship game. However, it is well worth watching as a feel-good family type movie. There are some surprises along with the expected moral to the story. Being from a family full of coaches and basketball players and having a fascination with math definitely made this movie more entertaining for me, but I think it would also be enjoyed by those who are not particularly sports fans. It is one I will recommend to family and friends. Fans of Vincent D'Onofrio will enjoy watching him briefly in a character different than what they are used to. I'm sorry I left this one sitting on the shelf for so long.

This is the story of a kid named Reggie. He's good at math but wishes he could play basketball. When he meets a strange junk collector named Zeke, he gets an old pair of sneakers. These sneakers help him to be a good ball player without practicing, but now a shoe company exec is trying to get rid of Reggie's shoes so people will lose interest.I really thought this was a delightful little film. It was also directed by Gregory Hines, who plays the role of Zeke, and I think he did a fine job at both. This is really aimed at children, but I can enjoy pretty much everything. If you have kids who like basketball than they might want to watch this the next time it comes on TV.

I saw The Red Sneakers and thought that it was okay. The storyline wasn't new or exciting. It was nice use of some well known actors but it didn't help because this movie got no publicity. I did like the sneakers though. I give it a 5 out of 10.