23 Blast

Readers can be forgiven if the mention of another small-budget, inspirational, high-school football movie incites little enthusiasm. 23 Blast, though, is a surprisingly effective film. 23 Blast tells the story of Travis Freeman, who is a star player for Corbin High in Kentucky, until he suddenly loses eyesight due to a bacterial infection. Freeman (Mark Hapka) slowly adjusts to life with blindness and continues to support his team from the bleachers, until his coach (Stephen Lang) makes an alarming request: “I want you to come back on the team and play center.”

That line would be laughed out of every cinema in Kentucky if it were mere screenwriting. But Travis Freeman is a real person, who really did play football without vision. Freeman’s story is remarkable enough for a major Hollywood treatment. 23 Blast, however, is a simple film that captures well the dynamics of rural, football-centered small town life.

There are the classic high-school movie fixtures, like Freeman’s perennially anxious parents (director Dylan Baker portrays Mr. Freeman); an alcohol-entrapped best friend; and a not-quite-girlfriend-or-is-she. In his deepest disappointment and frustration, Freeman is surrounded by those who love and support him. Even viewers disenchanted with football and its culture will be reminded how significant the relational identities that develop around athletics can become.

The film alludes to Freeman’s Christian faith with subtlety and winsomeness. He wears a cross necklace that he throws across the room in a fit of discouragement, and hears a theologically inoffensive sermon on overcoming that gives him an emotional turning point (in one of the film’s few poorly acted moments). The one moment of explicit Christianity comes at film’s end, and even then it feels less like cinematic evangelism and more like an authentic biographical element. The real Travis Freeman earned a degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and has a cameo as a minister.

23 Blast is a strong family movie night option, and its unpretentious filmmaking and earnest performances should curry favor from more selective viewers.