The Rookie (2002)

Name: The Rookie
Director: John Lee Hancock
Released: 2002

Jim Morris never made it out of the minor leagues before a shoulder injury ended his pitching career twelve years ago. Now a married-with-children high-school chemistry teacher and baseball coach in Texas, Jim's team makes a deal with him: if they win the district championship, Jim will try out with a major-league organization. The bet proves incentive enough for the team, and they go from worst to first, making it to state for the first time in the history of the school. Jim, forced to live up to his end of the deal, is nearly laughed off the try-out field--until he gets onto the mound, where he confounds the scouts (and himself) by clocking successive 98 mph fastballs, good enough for a minor-league contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Jim's still got a lot of pitches to throw before he makes it to The Show, but with his big-league dreams revived, there's no telling where he could go.

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What critics compared The Rookie to

The Blind Side (2009)

Directed by John Lee Hancock

After the fiasco of “The Alamo,” Hancock is solidly back in his wheelhouse with another compelling sports story that echoes the human touch he brought to the 2002 sleeper hit “The Rookie.”

Betsy Sharkey film critic • Los Angeles Times • Nov 20, 2009

latimes.com ↗

Hancock, who also directed another inspirational sports drama, The Rookie, gets the tone just about right.

reelviews.net ↗

Directed by John Lee Hancock, known for the award winning baseball drama The Rookie, The Blind Side is a remarkable true story that unashamedly tugs at the heart strings.

archive.org ↗

It’s not his fault, but director John Lee Hancock (“The Rookie”) doubles downed on the actor’s adorableness at great cost to the story in toto.

archive.org ↗

"The Blind Side" was directed by John Lee Hancock, who also helmed 2002's "The Rookie," another life-as-sports-analogy movie that was based on real events.

archive.org ↗

Based on Michael Lewis’ book, it was adapted and directed by John Lee Hancock, who made the equally pleasant baseball drama “The Rookie,” as well as “The Alamo” (which, ironically, has been forgotten).

Eric D. Snider • Eric D. Snider • Nov 20, 2009

ericdsnider.com ↗

Cars 3 (2017)

Directed by Brian Fee

(Cars 3’s credited writers include Mike Rich, whose previous works include The Rookie and Secretariat.)

Matt Singer • ScreenCrush • Jun 12, 2017

screencrush.com ↗

“Cars 3” is all about returning to the fundamentals that made Lightning such a strong racer in the first place and “Cars 3,” as a movie does just that – it does away with the unnecessary ornamentation of the sequel and focuses on what really matters (much credit should be given to director Brian Fee, who was a story artist on the first two films and makes his feature debut here, and co-writer Mike Rich, who has a strong grip on sports narrative conventions thanks to his work on “The Rookie,” “Miracle” and “Secretariat“).

theplaylist.net ↗

The Founder (2016)

Directed by John Lee Hancock

He also brings to the table a subtly sardonic attitude that helps cut through the sentimentalism that creeps in around the edges of his movies, including “The Rookie” and “The Blind Side.”

Justin Chang, Justin Chang Film Critic, www.latimes.com, justin-chang • Los Angeles Times • Dec 7, 2016

latimes.com ↗

Hancock is a very good director, but he tends to make more directly emotional films like The Rookie, The Blind Side, or Saving Mr. Banks.

Alan Cerny, www.facebook.com, alan.cerny • ComingSoon.net • Jan 20, 2017

comingsoon.net ↗

The filmography of Texas-born director and writer John Lee Hancock indicates a fascination with major pieces of Americana like baseball, football, and Walt Disney, the latter serving as both a subject ( Saving Mr. Banks ) and a sometime employer (Banks, along with The Rookie and the ill-fated Touchstone production The Alamo ).

avclub.com ↗

Director John Lee Hancock is best known for a plethora of downy nonfiction dramas, from “The Rookie” to “The Blind Side” to, most recently, “ Saving Mr. Banks .”

cinemixtape.com ↗

Sincerity, in fact, is the hallmark of Hancock’s filmography as a whole, which includes earnest dramas like The Rookie, The Alamo and The Blind Side.

pastemagazine.com ↗

Hancock’s previous films include The Blind Side, The Rookie, and Saving Mr. Banks—“true-story” films about people who accomplished great things against all odds, works that declined to do anything more than celebrate their protagonists’ achievements.

theatlantic.com ↗

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