50 to 1 - B-

Rated PG-13, 110 minutes

Inspiring "50 to 1" overcomes predictable story to win you over

If you enjoy a longshot true-life sports story, then the enjoyable, mostly winning "50 to 1" is you for you. It tells the true story of Mine that Bird, a horse that overcame 50 to 1 odds and started out dead last to come back to dramatically win the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Starring Skeet Ulrich ("Jericho") as trainer Chip Woolley and Christian Kane ("Leverage") and William Devane as the New Mexico cowboys who own the horse, it tells how the men trained the horse and overcame tremendous odds personally and professionally to become one of the more inspiring sports stories of the last few years. Directed by Jim Wilson, whose produced many Kevin Costner films includng "Swing Vote" and "Dances with Wolves," "50 to 1" is a small, low-key film that lacks the big-budget gravitas of similarily-themed films such as "Seabiscuit" and "Secretariat" and could have trouble finding a following with such a vague title, but in the end it will win you over. It's best when it focuses on the story of the horse instead of its unfunny attempts at buddy-buddy/road trip humor, which play more like a TV movie than a big screen effort its intended to be. Much like those other horse-related films, if you're familiar with the story, you already know how it turns out, but most of its still enjoyable nonetheless. If you stay over till the end, you'll also see how well the producers did at casting even some of the minor parts (Ulrich is a lookalike for Woolley, while singer/actor Kane looks nothing like owner Mark Allen). Enjoyable, predictable but "50 to 1" overcomes familiar odds to be a mildly winning effort, though lacking the emotion of some previous efforts with the same theme.

Wes's Grade: B-