rmgoogbono Running is one of my favorite activities, so I found this movie and wanted to see what it was about...Prefontaine was an outstanding American runner, never heard of him until I stumped into this movie, (starring Jared Leto, who I think is perfect for portraying a runner)... I like people like Steve Prefontaine who didn't leave this world without being remembered, despite dying at such young age...and who are moved by their heart, nothing can stop them, it's very inspiring. I enjoyed this movie from 1997, the 90's seem not too long ago but when you watch those movies makes you think it was a 'while ago' already , and the movie is set in 1972 so it feels even 'older'. I also enjoyed the acting, but the fact that it is a real story, and the fact that it happened during a world known tragedy (The massacre during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich) that touched the life of this athlete, makes it more interesting, so is not just a movie about runners.

djbens I rented this one accidentally thinking it was "Without Limits" starring Billy Crudup. I had seen that before and thought it was a great telling of a terrific story. This one was garbage. The acting was generally bad -- like sitcom bad -- and the makeup was ridiculous, as silly as that sounds, but the actors were made to look older for parts of it and it looked ridiculous. In short, this movie sucks. The other one is actually really good. Don't make the same mistake I made. Get "Without Limits" instead. It's way better. I'm really annoyed I just sat through this with my wife and brother. It takes a great story and makes it super-boring. There are not nearly enough races in this movie considering it's about racing.

bob the moo Since he was young, Steve Prefontaine was always too short, too skinny or too slow to be the first choice for any sports – a thing that only made him work harder to become whatever he felt he needed to be and to make the most of any chance given to him. At age 16 he decides that he is not only to be a runner but that he will be representing his country in Munich at the 1972 Olympics. Training hard for the mile event, his coach at Oregon State, Bill Bowerman convinces him to focus on the three-mile and make the media interested in it. Keeping his goal of getting three seconds faster every year of university, Pre gets closer to his Munich date while his reputation as a cocky yet gutsy athlete grows.First of all, I, unlike many other thoughtless reviewers have put a spoiler warning on this review because I, like countless others, had never heard of Steve Prefontaine and therefore didn't know how the film would end; didn't know, that is, until the very plot outline on this site proclaimed it. Anyway, despite this I decided to watch it because it didn't strike me as the sort of film that knowing the end mattered (of course I would rather have been allowed to decide that for myself). From the start of the film a picture is painted of Preforntaine as a cocky but driven individual who worked to overcome anything that life threw in his way but was ultimately (and untimely) beaten by the obstacle that defeats us all. In telling this story the film tries to develop a character while also making sure it delivers the basic memorable moments in his career. As such it doesn't quite succeed but then I suppose it depends what the audience is; if you know all the milestones then it is likely that the film might bore as its focus is really on the "what happened" rather than the "who". However for a viewer like me who didn't know it then it does enough to be interesting. The docu-drama approach worked better than I expected it would and the film does have a good pace (sorry) to it and, because it made Prefontaine an interesting character it actually made for a quite emotional film.The cast work pretty well; certainly Leto's presence had me worried but he not only had a good resemblance but did well with the material he was given. His character is not a complex person, but then with biographical films it is always difficult to write such a character and usually it is more effective to condense them down to the essence of who they were. Ermey is good value here in one of only three films where he doesn't play some sort of sergeant-major (I'm joking but it feels like it could be true) and is a nicely grizzled character. Support from O'Neill, Meyer and others is OK but really the film belongs to the lead two and, although Leto is hardly the life of the film, his character's story is worth the watch.Overall this is a solid, if unspectacular film that may not win you over if you have a working knowledge of Prefontaine but, for me, it was interesting at the level that it was presented. An interesting story that told me what I needed to know – could have been better but did enough to work for me.

jost-1 It's a little disturbing to me that anyone found this movie inspiring. As conjured by Jared Leto, the character of Steve Prefontaine was an unlikeable pretty-boy SOB, who basically inspired disbelief in me...does it really require that level of narcissism to be an exceptional athlete? The guy reached out to the little kid who was ahead of him in a spontaneous race and pulled him back, saying. "its not your time, kid'" or something like that, and later after getting all high an mighty about the (fictional) Amateur Athletic Association rules, he all but shuts down the special event they finally agreed to because HE was not going to meet his match there. Yet all the other characters were always in his thrall (you'll know why at the end). I did like the "mock documentary" style, once I figured it out. The 70's style rugs on some of the "younger" male athlete's heads were pretty funny though.