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Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Better Late Then Never

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Nine for IX: The '99ers (2013) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Highly entertaining entry in the ESPN series takes a look at the 1999 women's World Cup soccer team who pretty much took over the country on their way to the Championship game at the Rose Bowl. Eight former members of the team, including Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and Michelle Akers, are on hand to discuss their memories of their epic run throughout the country and the countless people they turned onto the sport and the kids they inspired. THE '99ERS is without question one of the better documentaries in the series and it even holds up quite well against some of the better ones from the 30 FOR 30 series. I think the best thing about this is the actual story as we get to see how unpopular women's soccer was until these ladies came along and started selling out massive stadiums and leading to a championship game, which was viewed by over forty-million people. Some of the best stuff deals with footage shot by captain Julie Foudy, which shows us what was going on behind the scenes. A lot of this footage just shows the girl chilling and having fun before games but it's quite priceless to see. Even if you're not familiar with this team you're still going to enjoy everything that happens here. If you are a fan of them and remember watching these games back in 1999 then you're really going to get a kick out of seeing the ladies today as they go down memory lane.