Wow, Hopkins directed this and, honestly, at best he's directed a lot of guilty pleasure movies. You know, the movies that you know are bad but you like them anyway. This one is actually, well, good.

It's a legit good film and that is odd for Hopkins.

Anyway, the failing is the Nazi thing. The discrimination in America plays, because that was really the principal challenge that Owens needed to overcome to even make it to the Olympics in the first place. That was a struggle in and of itself.

But, when it came to Germany it should have been more of a focus on him, and how he beat the "master race" and, instead, it was a little too focused on the Nazis. And, honestly, everyone knows who the Nazis are and what they did. We aren't watching the movie because of that, we are watching the movie because of what Owens did.

However, despite that, the movie works with a strong opening act that dealt in an albeit heavy-handed but still absolutely dramatically compelling story about Owens. The only fault is that it loses focus in Germany.

I watched **The Jesse Owens Story (1984)** on TV as a kid, and still remember how it made me feel. So many emotions all at once. From hope, excitement, sadness and anger in different stages of the movie. While searching for that movie to watch again, I came across this recent 2016 movie about Jesse Owens. Although, IMHO, it's not epic as the 1984 movie, this still delivered.

Jesse Owens will forever be my hero. What an absolute legend!

Also Jason Sudeikis plays the role of coach so well. I mean, it's like the dude was made to play coach. I fee like this was him training for his Ted Lasso role.

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Since Hollywood always changes real stories to fit their established narrative. I would like to leave a couple of quotes by Jesse Owens about his experience in the Berlin Olympics and how he thought he was treated by Franklin D. Roosevelt (the Democrat president at the time).

**"After all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I couldn’t ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn’t live where I wanted. Now what’s the difference?"** - Jesse Owens

**"Hitler didn't snub me; it was our president who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram."** - Jesse Owens

**"And then;… wonder of wonders;… I saw Herr Adolph [sic] Hitler, salute this lad. I looked on with a heart which beat proudly as the lad who was crowned king of the 100 meters event, get an ovation the like of which I have never heard before. I saw Jesse Owens greeted by the Grand Chancellor of this country as a brilliant sun peeped out through the clouds. I saw a vast crowd of some 85,000 or 90,000 people stand up and cheer him to the echo."** - Robert L. Vann


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