Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A Vangelis score accompanying two sprinters persevering against all odds. A dad and son on a ghostly Iowan cornfield, playing catch. Sports movies just have a way of worming their way into our hearts, and their inspirational quality is a huge part of that appeal.
Athletic competition is rife with underdog stories, with dozens of scrappy upstarts who no one thought could ever win, but audiences couldn’t help but fall in love with. Some are based on true events, while others are born out of writers’ imaginations, but they’re all hard not to root for. Here are seven inspiring sports movies to watch ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
'Cool Runnings'
When it comes to sports underdog stories, it doesn’t get more … well, underdoggish, than a Jamaican team of athletes qualifying for the Olympics in bobsledding. Despite hailing from a tropical country and being largely made up of individuals who have never even seen snow, what the intrepid sportsmen in "Cool Runnings" lack in experience they make up for in spirit.
When sprinter Derice Bannock (Leon) fails to qualify for the Jamaican national team, he develops a harebrained scheme to start a bobsled squad so that he can still go to the Olympics — just in frosty Calgary rather than sunny Seoul. He recruits Irv Blitzer (John Candy) to lead the unconventional endeavor, and the rest is history. Directed with a light touch by Jon Turteltaub, "Cool Runnings" presents a charming alternative to many more heavy-handed sports dramas, one that never takes itself too seriously.
Watch on Disney Plus
'The Karate Kid'
By this point, "The Karate Kid" — after three main films, two spin-offs and a sequel series ("Cobra Kai") that Netflix got more mileage out of than anyone could have ever dreamed — is more of an institution than a mere film. The original film stars Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso, a New Jersey transplant who finds himself bullied by Johnny (William Zabka) and the other Proud Boy-looking members of the nearby karate dojo, Cobra Kai. Daniel decides to fight back and begins training with his mysterious Japanese neighbor, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita).
The rest, my friends, is history. If the iconic training sequences don’t win you over as Miyagi strengthens Daniel’s muscle memory via yard work and household chores, the final karate competition sequence where Daniel uses the now legendary (if impractical) crane kick will seal the deal.
Watch on Starz
'Bend It Like Beckham'
Women breaking into the frequently male-dominated field of soccer, children of immigrants struggling to reconcile their two cultures — "Bend It Like Beckham" has it all. Parminder Nagra stars as Jess, a young Indian girl who is obsessed with soccer, and pretty talented to boot. Her parents, however, don’t consider it an appropriate hobby for a girl, believing that she should instead devote her attention to her schoolwork and more traditional household activities.
But Jess rebels, joining a girl’s team behind her parents’ backs, making a new best friend (Jules, the role that put Keira Knightley on the map) and winning the heart of her Irish coach (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) along the way. More than just celebrating women’s soccer, director Gurinder Chadha imbues the proceedings with a palpable sense of joy and empowerment that is impossible not to fall in love with.
Watch on Disney Plus
'Miracle'
Back in the late 1970s, the Soviet Union was a dominating force in pretty much every sport even remotely related to ice or snow. It was inevitable that the Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union would bleed into international sports, with the two superpowers becoming as competitive as two over-the-hill uncles at a backyard game of touch football on Thanksgiving. When the 1980 Olympics rolled around, it was clear that the Soviet Union had the upper hand when it came to men’s ice hockey, and any team fielded by the U.S. would have its work cut out for them.
“Miracle” is about that very hockey team, a Cinderella story about a ragtag group of underdogs facing off against an elite squad of Russian players who everyone in the entire world expected to win. But hey, miracles can happen, as the triumphant U.S. team would learn for themselves in this dramatic hockey flick that wears its heart on its sleeve.
Watch on Disney Plus
'Fighting With My Family'
Is there anything Florence Pugh can’t do? In "Fighting With My Family," she stars as Saraya, the youngest member of a prodigious wrestling family. She follows in the footsteps of her parents, who run an independent wrestling promotion in their hometown of Norwich, England, and her older brother Zak (Jack Lowden), who dreams of making it to the big leagues.
Seeking out new opportunities, Saraya and Zak audition to have a shot at the WWE — but only Saraya makes the cut, and the journey to actually becoming a professional wrestler is more grueling than she could have imagined. Florence Pugh shines in the lead role, reminding audiences that she’s just as effective in contemporary productions as she is in period pieces, and puts in a physically demanding performance that does justice to the real-life Saraya.
'Free Solo'
"Free Solo" may not be a stirring piece of narrative fiction like many other sports films, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t amazingly dramatic and heart-pounding — even anxiety-provoking. This documentary by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin revolves around the exploits of Alex Honnold, a rock climber with a special interest in what is called free solo. That is to say, climbing alone up the face of a mountain with no ropes, no protective gear, and nothing to break their fall if they make a single mistake. So to say that "Free Solo" is an incredibly stressful experience for everyone involved is a bit of an understatement.
But it also serves as an awe-inspiring testament to the strength of both the human body and mind, that Honnold is able to accomplish such a feat — even as it calls into question Honnold’s willingness to put his friends and family through such an ordeal, to say nothing of the ethical struggles of the documentarians who made this film knowing that there was a very real possibility that their subject was going to die on-screen with their tacit approval.
Watch on Disney Plus
'Billy Elliot'
A kid from the wrong side of the tracks discovers a hidden love and aptitude for ballet, despite it flying in the face of the traditional masculinity he’s been brought up with — what’s not to like about that? "Billy Elliot" is a crowd-pleaser from start to finish, largely thanks to the star-making performance of Jamie Bell, who puts in some of the best work by a child actor in recent memory.
The visual contrast between the rough-and-tumble surroundings of Elliot’s mining town of the early 1980s and the undeniable spark of his dancing sequences creates such fantastic energy that audiences fell in love with the film when it was first released, and it has established a long legacy in the years since. Although ballet may not be the most traditional subject for a sports film, "Billy Elliot" is every bit as much an underdog as Rocky or Rudy.
