Top Sports Movies that You Need to Watch Today!

Sports Movies

Sports movies are just never about the sport. They are anecdotes of a person triumphing over all forms of adversity, which are meant to inspire ordinary individuals, making them dream of being a winner in the end.

These sports films don’t necessarily have to be dramatic, cruel, or just downright morose. Sometimes, they can leave you in splits with their comic timing and sometimes a little stunned by their worldview, despite the harshness, faced at the hands of loved ones.

That’s why we selected some odd favorites so that you give them a watch. Or revisit them, if you haven’t searched these titles in a long time and relive stories of hope and spirit.

The Karate Kid

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Sports, Teen, Drama

Released: 1984

Synopsis: Confusion has often been observed, about whether one should even call Karate a sport. Or simply consider it as a martial art. However, Karate is both – a sport and martial art. That’s because the athletic quality and high competitiveness make this a sport. Whereas the focus is shifted towards, combat and defense as a martial art.

And that’s the balance, one sees in the movie, The Karate Kid. The mild and good-natured teen, Daniel Larusso moves to L.A., when his mom finds a new job in the city. However, Daniel is beyond disappointed. Instead of a lavish house with a decent pool, he finds out that he has moved to a shoddy old apartment. School is no different where even though, he becomes good friends with the pretty Ali, he’s the new target for the bullies of Cobra Kai Karate School. Being constantly picked on, Daniel has no option but to turn toward the apartment janitor, Mr. Miyagi who, unexpectedly, is a Master of the Martial Art, reluctantly agrees to become Daniel’s mentor.

Hence, begins Daniel’s journey where he is taught the discipline of Karate. Accentuating both the ferocity of the art and the compassion that it conceals, Miyagi teaches the art of Karate for the upcoming tournament, surprising both Daniel and audiences alike. However, the real test is whether Daniel wins the final tournament or not? This is one heart-warming story that deserves a watch. Go check it out and experience the interesting dynamic between the Master and his new student.

The movie utilizes semi-autobiographical elements from the life of Robert Mark Kamen, screenwriter of the Karate Kid, who at the age of 17, was beaten up by a gang of bullies in NYC. After which he began to study martial arts diligently to defend himself. Initially unhappy with the results, he came across Okinawan Gōjū-ryū Karate from a Japanese mentor, once a student of Chōjun Miyagi.

Moreover, John G. Avildsen’s connection with the Rocky series often had Sylvester Stallone joking that the writer ripped the essence off the Rocky movies and poured them into the Karate Kid. Nonetheless, this is a sweet movie, which continues to be a favorite amongst flicks in similar genres.

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Bend It Like Beckham

Genre(s): Sports Comedy, Drama, Romance

Released: 2002

Synopsis: ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ is a hilarious piece of work written, directed, and produced by Gurinder Chadha. Ironically, this sports comedy movie is brought alive by Chadha’s flair for that dash and clash of ethnic color and modern culture. It is the story of Jasminder Bhamra, also known as Jess, who belongs to an average British Indian Sikh family living in Hounslow, London. Jess is obsessed with all things British football. However, her traditional yet humorous parents do not encourage her interest nor boost her to take up anything remotely ‘football’. Their aim in life is to get both their daughters married off to nice husbands, with whom they can soon start a family.

However, her parents’ disapproval does not mean that Jess would have left off the love of football. Sometimes, she played the sport with boys in the nearby park alongside her boy-best friend Tony. It is here in the park where her talent catches the eye of Jules Paxton, an active member of the local women-only football team, the Hounslow Harriers.

Noticing her agile football skills, Jules befriends Jess and invites her to try out for the amateur sports team. The women’s team is coached by Joe, a former sportsman, who had his career disrupted because of injuries on the field. Although Jess is forbidden by her parents to join the team, she still goes ahead and plays the sport under the ruse of a new part-time job, where she works late, when she is actually on the field, playing her heart out.

However, Joe finds out that Jess has been hiding her real whereabouts. And played the sport behind her parents’ back. Which prompts him to hold a private meeting with Jess’s father, Mr. Bhamra so that he could convince the older man to allow his daughter to play for the team. The request is turned down by Mr. Bhamra, who states that he is only protecting Jess from getting hurt the same way he was hurt years ago. And was unable to play cricket due to the team’s hostile and antagonistic sentiment towards him and his Indian origins.

The question remains: Do Jess’s parents ever allow her to play football the way she plays in her dreams? Or will she just be another Indian bride, who has to make the perfect gol roti for her husband? Download the movie now, using the spectacular range of HD movie channels on Select TV, and watch this humorous family drama that painted dreary London with its splash of vivid color.

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Million Dollar Baby

Genre(s): Sports, Drama, Neo-noir

Released: 2004

Synopsis: Million Dollar Baby is one hell of a ride, for it is a masterpiece delivered by Clint Eastwood. Reigning 2004 with its ingenious magnificence, this sports drama is directed, co-produced, and even scored by Eastwood, who stars in the movie as well. Based on F.X. Toole’s short stories and screenplay by Paul Haggis, the film also stars Hilary Swank with Morgan Freeman in leading roles. The movie follows the boxing journey of Margaret Fitzgerald (Maggie), an amateur boxer, who takes reluctant help and training from the gruff and under-recognized boxing trainer, Frankie Dunn to achieve her ultimate dream of becoming a professional boxer. The story unfolds one woman’s muscle and grit, which goes head to head to match the gruff heart of a tough man.

Surprisingly, this boxing film sneaked up on audiences before they realized its sheer brilliance, ultimately sweeping the Oscars in one go! Oddly, the name of the movie betrays the true power of this wonderful film. For one feels that they are about to enter a world of music and romance when they look at the title of the film. However, the movie is far from this assumption and is anything but your stereotypical boxing film. The non-boxing quality of the movie is what sets it apart. The title, however, as many boxing fans may instantly recognize, was a taunt by Sonny Liston to the young Muhammad Ali, in his early days, who was yet to gain prominence in the industry, when the match was set.

Give this a watch if you are a fan of Swank and Eastwood. But also because if you want to see masters performing magic on the big screen: Swank, transforms into her character with effortless grace while Eastwood in addition to Freeman conveys cinematic intelligence with unparalleled finesse.

Wrapping Up

Although sport-based films are more setting-based, they are often considered a genre for they depict universal themes of hard work and perseverance, which are meant to appeal to anyone around the globe- whether they love and enjoy the respective sport. Or not. Even though, loving the said sport may help the viewer more, this way they get to enjoy the movie more.

Nonetheless, we recommend that you watch some of the above-mentioned flicks, for they are anything but run of the mill and will keep one glued to the screen due to their high unpredictability factor. Just make sure that your movie streaming is not interrupted by lousy service. If that’s the case, check out top ISPs on BuyTVInternetPhone and invest in a service that doesn’t disappoint!