Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:
Upcoming Movies and TV shows
Trivia & Rotter Tomatoes Podcast
Media News + More
Sign me up
No thanks
By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's
Privacy Policy
and
Terms and Policies.
Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.
Let's keep in touch!
>
Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:
Despite the talent involved in The Legend of Bagger Vance, performances are hindered by an inadequate screenplay full of flat characters and bad dialogue. Also, not much happens, and some critics are offended by how the film glosses over issues of racism.Read critic reviews
Watch The Legend of Bagger Vance with a subscription on Max, rent on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video.
Rate And Review
Super Reviewer
Verified
Super Reviewer
Verified
Super Reviewer
Rate this movie
Oof, that was Rotten.
Meh, it passed the time.
It’s good – I’d recommend it.
Awesome!
So Fresh: Absolute Must See!
What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2
How did you buy your ticket?
Let's get your review verified.
Fandango
AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
Cinemark
Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
Regal
Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Rate this movie
Oof, that was Rotten.
Meh, it passed the time.
It’s good – I’d recommend it.
Awesome!
So Fresh: Absolute Must See!
What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
Fandango
AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
Cinemark
Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
Regal
Coming Soon
We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
Bagger Vance (WILL SMITH, center) and Rannulph Junuh (MATT DAMON, right) take heart as Junuh's game steadily improves.Bagger Vance (WILL SMITH) agrees to hire young Hardy Greaves (J. MICHAEL MONCRIEF) as Rannulph Junuh's forecaddie.Director ROBERT REDFORD demonstrates a golf swing for stars (left to right) MATT DAMON, WILL SMITH and J. MICHAEL MONCRIEF on the set.Director ROBERT REDFORD (right) confers with star WILL SMITH on the set.The mysterious caddie named Bagger Vance (WILL SMITH, left) hands a club to Rannulph Junuh (MATT DAMON, right) for the shot that will decide more than the match.The mysterious caddie named Bagger Vance (WILL SMITH, left) helps golfer Rannulph Junuh (MATT DAMON, right) decide his next move with the help of his young protégé Hardy (J. MICHAEL MONCRIEF).Hardy Greaves (J. MICHAEL MONCRIEF) goes looking for Rannulph Junuh to ask him to represent Savannah in a once-in-a-lifetime golf match.Rannulph Junuh (MATT DAMON) returns to Savannah an unassuming solitary figure who bears little resemblance to the hero who went off to war.J. Michael Moncrief as Hardy Greaves in Dreamworks' The Legend of Bagger VanceBagger Vance (Will Smith) offers advice about more than the game to young golfer Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon, right) with the help of his young protege Hardy (J. Michael Moncrief, left).Hardy (J. Michael Moncrief) helps Rannulph (Matt Damon) realize that the rhythm of the game is a lot like the rhythm of life.Joel Gretsch, Matt Damon and Bruce McGill in Dreamworks' The Legend of Bagger VanceBagger Vance (WILL SMITH, right) advises golfer Rannulph Junuh (MATT DAMON, left) during a once-in-a-lifetime match against the greatest golfers of the day.Director ROBERT REDFORD watches a scene on the set.Rannulph Junuh (MATT DAMON) explains the progression of getting drunk to young Hardy Greaves.JOEL GRETSCH stars as legendary golfer Bobby Jones.After years of separation, Adele Invergordon (CHARLIZE THERON) and Rannulph Junuh (MATT DAMON) share a bittersweet dance.MATT DAMON stars as Rannulph Junuh.Adele Invergordon (CHARLIZE THERON) uses all her charms to convince the greatest golfers of the day to compete in a once-in-a-lifetime match to save her late-father's dream resort.BRUCE McGILL stars as the great golf champion Walter Hagen.
During the Great Depression, Georgia socialite Adele Invergordon (Charlize Theron) announces a publicity-garnering high-stakes match at her struggling family golf course, featuring the greatest golfers of the era. Once-promising local golfer Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon), whose career and life were derailed by World War I, is brought in to play alongside the stars, but his game is weak -- until the enigmatic Bagger Vance (Will Smith) offers to coach him back into the great golfer he once was.
This is one of those films where every critic has enjoyed it, but it fails to truly capture your imagination. The film is good and is entertaining, but it falls short of what it could have been a truly engaging experience. The movie is directed by Robert Redford who crafts a film that relies on traditional feel good elements to make a film that work, but falls short of its potential. The cast do what they can with the material and they make it a worthwhile film to watch. The plot is quite good, but at times it just becomes too sentimental. Some may really love it, and relate to the material, but I felt it tried too hard in being something more. With that being said, this is not a masterwork by any means. It's a good film, but one that should have been much better due to the fact that it had an impressive cast of talent, not to mention it was directed by Robert Redford. I expected much more from this film, and though it's entertaining, it becomes a film that should been much more. If the script would have had a few rewrites, then maybe this one would have worked in the way it should have. As it is, it's a film that is too sentimental and tries too hard at making you feel good, while it should do it effortlessly. The film is no different than others in the genre. Average entertainment, but is not a standout and leaves you wanting more out of a film. The Legend of Bagger Vance is worth seeing, but by the times the credit roll, you realize that you want more in a film with this amount of talent involved.
Super Reviewer
Jan 04, 2012
The Zegend of Bagger Vance is not a very good or memorable film.
This movie just touches a nerve about life and how we sometimes get lost and need to find our way back. The three leads (Matt Damon as Junuh, Will Smith as Bagger, and Charlize Theron as the sparkling and feisty genteel Southern Belle) did a god job. A brilliant performance by a man who helps and guides another man through his problems in life in which his only reward is to see the other man better off. Robert Redford uses golf as a metaphor for life and knows how to show the extraordinary in ordinary lives and that touches your very soul leaving you optimistic and happy for the rest of the day! It is an incredible movie and does not require the viewer to be an avid golfer!
Verified