5th Quarter (2010)

I must admit, the movie wasn't anything like I was expecting. It was more and so meaningful to watch how families deal with such a tragic loss in their lives. I have often made the comment that when tradegy hits one family and their lives, I do not how people who do not have Christ in their lives can deal with all that goes on. Your life will truly be blessed by watching this movie.

I have been a Wake Forest fan for years and remember when this tragic yet inspiring story happened. The movie captures everything so well that you can't help but feel for the Abbate family. It's such a touching story of how someone so young can affect so many people and the obstacles that the family had to overcome. I remember when the crowd would put up 5 fingers at the start of every 4th quarter and how it felt to be a united community around the family. And how the football team came together and were able to overcome the preseason disappointment of being picked to finish last in the conference. This movie is very inspiring and I highly recommend it to anyone. GO DEACS!!

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I am going to see this movie again. I cried a lot through this movie but it was so inspiring. This movie to me is what you should get out of a movie. It has meaning, family relationship,strength, and love.

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In life, nothing is certain. Sometimes when things are going good, sometimes there are things that happen in life that can easily derail one's life.

In the case of "The 5th Quarter", the true story is about how tragedy derailed a family but how one young teenager's death, gave life to five individuals and how another son used his brother's memory gave him strength to overcome tragedy and eventually helped him as a college football player for Wake Forest University.

This is the story of the Abbate family which became an inspirational sports story but became a spiritual and inspirational film adaptation of the book by Rick Bieber (who would write and direct the film).

VIDEO:

"The 5th Quarter" is presented in 1080p High Definition (widescreen 1:85:1). It's important to note that the film is presented with various video sources. For the majority of the film, "The 5th Quarter" looks good when featuring the shots made for the film. There is a good amount of grain and also some detail. But it's not a film where one can say the film completely has great picture quality because it incorporates a lot of video sources from archived Wake Forest University football matches.

So, while the first half of the film looks very good, the second half is where you see a lot of the football archived footage showcasing the rise of the Wake Forest football team when it was pegged to be the last place team of their conference. And for some people, archived football footage may not be for them. But for me, as a football fan and having watched many archived football footage on the NFL channel from the past 50-years, if you love football, the camaraderie of the sport and the excitement on the field and on the stands, it's those footage that Rick Beiber tries to capture in the film.

It's not perfect but he did manage to capture the team's winning season in the film using that footage and while it worked for me, the inconsistency of the picture quality for the film may not work for everyone.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"The 5th Quarter" is presented in English 5.1 DT-HD Master Audio. The film is primarily a dialogue-driven film with a lot of music, so it's front and center-channel driven which is expected from a film like "The 5th Quarter". You do hear crowd ambiance through the surround channels, especially during a helicopter scene when Luke's body is being airlifted to the hospital. But outside of that, the film is dialogue driven and dialogue is crystal clear.

For the most part, the lossless soundtrack is appropriate and for a lower budget film, I was not expecting an immersive soundtrack.

Subtitles are in English SDH, Spanish and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"The 5th Quarter" comes with the following special feature:

The Making of the 5th Quarter -(6:08) Interviews with the director Rick Beiber, the cast of the film and also the Abbate family and the making of "The 5th Quarter".

JUDGMENT CALL:

"The 5th Quarter" is a spiritual, emotional and inspirational film that will touch but also break your heart. It's a film that will make you cry and for the most part, it's a touching football film that is a Christian film but doesn't force it down anyone's throat.

It's a film that is similar to another tragic football film "We Are Marshall" but instead focuses on one football player and his family facing adversity during their darkest time.

But most importantly, how these individuals made it out of the dark after their lives were shattered by the sudden death of their beloved young son.

And this is a film in which both the real Steven and Maryanne Abbate were involved in and as difficult as their story is, it's also a film that brings attention to the importance of organ donation but how people can move on from suffering after a loved one's death. It's not an easy process and its a hurt that remains with you for the rest of your life but it's a film that also shows how a community and how a university was very supportive to the family during their darkest days.

The family went on to form a foundation after Luke to increase awareness of organ donation but also the dangers of reckless driving and the film helps carry the message and gives a voice of the Abbate family and hoping the message reaches other people who watch the film.

I know there are film critics who are going to hate on this film. One because it is a spiritual film and two, it is a film that focuses on a message and it's not exactly a big budget film with a storyline that focuses all on a death of a child and a family that wants justice. It's not that type of film.

This is not a film that chooses to become anything artistic, nor is it a film that was meant to show what happened to the family members after Wake Forest University won the championship. It's a spiritual film that carries on the message of the Abbate family and there will be people who are touched by the film and its message while others who are hoping to have a deep film along the lines of "We are Marshall" being disappointed.

The film's first half focuses on the death of Luke and how the family members deal with it but the second half of the film is about Jon Abbate playing at Wake Forrest University and how the team faced adversity after being touted as the team to be in last place. Sure, the film uses archived video during the time Jon did play at Wake Forest and yes, actor Ryan Merriman ("Final Destination 3', "The Ring Two") may not have the same body type compared to the real life Jon when you watch the archived football footage.

Sure there is a lot of archived Wake Forest University football footage from 2006 featured throughout the second half of the film and this is not a big-budget Hollywood film that could re-enact a lot of those football moments throughout the various seasons. If anything, why did the second half focus on the football game versus the family? It's because those games and team's winning season, was what gave the family that peace of mind during their darkest time of their lives.

For the Abbate family, seeing their older son Jon in a historic season for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons was a big thing for the family and the university was also very supportive towards the family. Seeing him raise his five fingers to honor his brother was one thing, but then to see the team and then suddenly everyone in the bleachers doing the same, that probably was a bit support for the family.

Yes, there are unexplored storylines with characters such as the middle brother, Jon's girlfriend, Jon's good friend who helped bring him back home for training. For me, these characters were good for the support to Jon and his family. For me, It didn't matter in the storyline to focus on those moments.

The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt wrote, "But hospital scenes, then funeral and lengthy testimonials mean little to an audience that doesn't know the deceased."

While I can understand where Honeycutt is coming from towards his evaluation of the film, at the same time, when it comes to films that deal a lot with spirituality and faith....and yes, I mean Christian films, these films are created differently from normal theatrical films. The same can be said with Christian music and commercial music. They may share similarities but Christian music is about the message.

"The 5th Quarter" is a film with a message.

So, as I can understand where Mr. Honeycutt and also a few other people would make comments towards those scenes, those scenes are where the family's show their faith in God. It's not driven down anyone's throat nor is made to preach that one should follow a certain religion but it does show how even the most spiritual families can also be shattered by tragedy and it takes time to heal.

A month ago, there was another inspirational/spiritual (and much bigger budget) film titled "Soul Surfer" in how the family held things together because of their faith after their daughter lost her arm to a shark. Those scenes shown in that film with the church group and the family's dedication to their faith may not mean much to one who doesn't share the same feeling towards faith, and for "The Fifth Quarter", the funeral and testimonials, especially the hospital scenes made the film and the pain that the family and friends went through, seem so real.

But for those who are able to watch and understand the message of the film, if that message can save many lives...then the goal of the Abbate family and possibly also Rick Bieber made this film successful. Also, a great emotional performance by Aidan Quinn ("Benny & Joon", "Legends of the Fall", "Unknown") and Andie MacDowell ("Groundhog Day", "Short Cuts", "Four Weddings and a Funeral").

As for the Blu-ray release, you get a short featurette featuring "The Making of the 5th Quarter". It would be nice to have an audio commentary track or even give the family a short featurette to promote their foundation created in the memory for Luke.

The picture quality of course varies between the actual film and archived football footage but for the most part, I do believe that this is a film that many families can watch and be moved by it. Those who have lost a young family member can possibly be inspired by it. Because for the family, the pain still resides...these are not perfect people. And they show that even having strong faith, it's hard for families to go on after a tragic incident but the fact is, through time, people will heal, through the support of friends and family but if anything... time.

"The 5th Quarter" may not be for everyone, nor is it a perfect film but for an independent, spiritual and inspirational film with a lot of football incorporated to the film, I enjoyed it. I was moved by it. And yes, as a father... I found myself crying as well.

I recommend this film and this Blu-ray release!

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Loved this movie!! I never cry when I watch movies but not the case with this one. It was 10 times better than I expected and highly recommend it! Great Christmas present. Every teenager should be required to watch it.

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