Linsanity (2013)

Too much of everything

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

It's a superb! This documentary is well organized, the story well told, and the theme well expressed. Lin is an evangelical Christian, and was a leader in Harvard's Asian American Christian Fellowship during his time there.He credited his NBA success to playing without pressure. "I've surrendered that to God. I'm not in a battle with what everybody else thinks anymore," said Lin. He hopes to become a pastor who can head up non- profit organizations, either home or abroad, and has talked of working in inner-city communities to help with underprivileged children.Lin is focused on ignoring those concerns. He said he's not even worried about the pressure that comes with being a man of faith."It's a platform I've been given," Lin said. "I want to be real. I don't want to have a false image. I want people to see who I am and what God has done in my life."If people don't like me or are waiting for me to fail, that's on them. I don't want to offend anybody. I don't want to be overbearing. But I've got to be who I am."

I have no idea how this film can get such a low overall review score. It is by far one of the best films I've seen in the past two decades. What makes it even more exciting is that director Evan Leong and his team started filming way before all the Linsanity hype. Jeremy Lin's story is not just about basketball, it illustrates determination, work ethic, and true resilience in realizing one's dreams. I would recommend this film to people of all ages. It's unfortunate that it is only playing at select theaters, however, I noticed that Amazon and some other sites have an online stream available for purchase - Even though I have seen the film at the Canadian Premiere screening, I am going to watch it again without a doubt. A great underdog story showcasing one of the greatest - yet most humble - players in the NBA. Keep on inspiring Jeremy Lin.

I had the pleasure of seeing Linsanity this evening at the SXSW Film Festival. The film was extremely warmly received. After the showing, we were joined by not only the director and crew, but by the one and only Jeremy Lin himself. The director and his crew did an excellent job in presenting a very personal and moving portrait of Jeremy, his struggles to overcome stereotypes, and particularly how he drew strength from his faith and his culture. The film benefited from the fact that the crew started film Jeremy several years ago when he was a senior at Harvard and long before his rise to international stardom last year. They were thus able to show the story of his high school and college careers when he had gained some recognition, but was not a huge star. The level of racism that he encountered was quite disturbing. Jeremy's strength in the face of adversity is truly inspiring. I expect that this film will be picked up by ESPN and broadcast widely in the next few months. The film should be appealing to both sports fans and non- sports fans. While it is the journey of an athlete, it is really a story of perseverance and hard work that goes beyond just the realm of sports and should be widely relevant to people who have struggled in a wide variety of endeavors.

"Linsanity" is an actual word, except no one has the actual definition. The most common terminology may be "the awesome feeling of Jeremy Lin winning the ultimate basketball game". My father and I loved watching basketball games together. This is the story of Jeremy Lin's love for this sport and the reality of getting into the NBA. Jeremy Lin is a man of faith and expresses it to us in this documentary. Director Evan Leong stated at the Sundance Q&A the film started out only as a web series and turned into something greater. The story starts with his game against the LA Lakers facing off the legendary LeBron James. Those of us who know Jeremy Lin will already predict the end result but even find a deeper understanding of this incredible player. Leong did a fantastic job bringing this player to life. My only complaint would be the large amount of archival footage and him playing basketball and NBA games. We see that on TV all the time when there needed to be more of knowing him as a character. Great job from the entire team and I hope you get this film for the world to see.