needed.Well done to all involved in this production, my wife and I really enjoyed it.

worked hard academically and athletically, he stood firm in his values and morals. I hope this message resonates loud to the audience to not be afraid of going against what is popular for the greater good.

most of all, you will leave wanting to be a better person yourself.

doesn't even begin to show what an amazing, dedicated, and courageous person Brian was in real life. The truth is we don't have enough people like Brian on this planet and his death at such a young age was truly tragic.It's nice to see something at the movies where the basic message is believe in yourself and work hard for what you want in life. Brian's life was an inspiration - at the end of the movie they list some of the foundations and charities started in his honor.

would notice. His brother Marty was 17-yrs older than Brandon and many thought he was Brandon's father. Marty wanted the best for Brandon but really didn't believe Brandon would achieve his dreams. This really isn't a football story It's a story about determination, faith and trust. Christian undertones dominate this film, but is not preachy. We see a little football, of course, but we mostly see the struggles Brandon went thru at different stages to achieve his dreams and never gave up and always tried to do better. We will see Brandon take a lot of abuse from just about everyone especially from the players he hoped to play with. Some of this will tear at your heart. Oh, and have box of Kleenex handy.It was nice to see Neal McDonough finally in a good guy role. He is a great, perhaps underrated, actor even though he plays the bad guys a lot. He always gives a very good performance and he did in here. Notables: Nick Searcy as The Farmer who tries to shake Marty's faith and it is fragile at best; Michael Parks as Leo, Brandon and Marty's alcoholic father; Leslie Easterbrook as Brandon and Marthy's adoring mother; and Mark Dobies as Coach Nutt, the coach in Brandon's senior year and he convinces the new coach not to go into a rebuild program and not to give up on this team as things will change.At the end there will be statements about how Brandon Burlsworth's life impacts many today. This is a very uplifting and impressive story about a young very impressive young man. Christopher Severio has done an excellent job portraying Brandon Burlsworth. Kudos. 9/10 Violence: Yes. Football scenes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Humor: Yes, at times. Language: No Rating: A

think they only people that won't enjoy this movie are people that dislike or resent the Christian content.

college seemed instantaneous, as if somebody had just clicked "supersize" on his body, and he was suddenly one inch taller and 80 pounds heavier. 30-90 seconds would have sufficed to show me, rather than tell me.2. Some parts of the script were a bit gushing with sentimentality, when there was absolutely no need for any melodrama in this story.3. In keeping with the bit of melodrama, I felt "The Farmer" who taunted grieving Marty was absolutely unnecessary. Was this person really there, doing that? I don't know, and I don't care. He's inserted into the movie in a way that seems like editorializing, rather than adding to the story. If a character isn't driving home the story, he or she should be eliminated from it, especially given the length of the film.To close out this criticism sandwich of a review, these minor flaws kept me stuck at 8.3 stars for "Greater," unable to round up to a 9-star rating. It's still a great movie. In particular, the intense sadness of the ending was much deeper than expected. After all, I reckon most viewers know how Brandon's life ends before they watch the movie -- it's explicitly stated in the Storyline for this IMDb page. Even so, the depth of emotion portrayed caused me to recollect the sadness of loss of close loved ones in my own life, and how much better I feel the world would be if they were still around, instead of abruptly removed from it as they were. The ending itself drives home that emotional connection without requiring an extraneous character to spoon feed it to me .Eight stars!

humble beginnings without the natural size or giftedness that so many athletes are born with, so he had to work hard to become an All American offensive lineman at the University of Arkansas aka the Razorbacks , and was eventually drafted in the third round by the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, in the late 1990's. Unfortunately he was killed in an automobile accident before he was to play at the professional level.Brandon's faith in God was a large part of his story, his influence and the positive example he was to others, and his legacy continues today through foundations, scholarships, awards and trophies that are given in his name annually to help others.Chris Severio plays Brandon while Leslie Easterbrook is his loving and faithful mother Barbara, who raised him without his absent, alcoholic father Leo Michael Parks . Much of the narrative is realized through the eyes of his older brother 16 years his senior Marty, played by Neal McDonough, who struggles with his own belief through a conversation with "Old Scratch" Nick Searcy .