That was an excellent one.

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Blistering performances.

I have happy memories of watching this movie, a go to film as most sport stories have Rob Lowe as Dean Youngblood the hero, up against the odds of a brutal opponent.Raki, Ed Lauder and Cynthia Gibb supporting, Make this a feel good film. Patrick Swayze, and Keanu Reeves also star, its not just about winning its winning in the right way.

This film is well cast, and acted, there is a story, and the game of hockey is made clear even to those who are not fans. Some of the photography is way above average, for example the scene of puck shooting exercises by "Youngblood". The relationships between two brothers, father son, and two friends Judd Lowe and Patrick Swayze are all well presented. There was not a dull moment in this film. But above all this was a good vehicle to show Judd Lowe's talent. He really held the movie. It is a shame that he lost the momentum of his career by becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol.Of course it did not hurt to have Patrick Swayze, Ed Lauter, Cynthia Gibb, and even Keanu Reeves. I am comparing it to another movie about young men whose dream is to join a professional sports team (Baseball) "Sugar" (2008) which was slow moving, Youngblood has a good pace, and flow of events.

Back in 1986 prior to the opening of this film, some press was spilt about the level of dedication "pretty boy" actor Rob Lowe was going to for the title role, such as bulking up a bit for the role and the extensive training to make the hockey scenes as authentic as possible. After all that preparation, it seems a shame that the end result is a predictable largely generic feel-good sports film set on the ice. Lowe is the title character, who in a whirlwind of activity becomes a force to be reckoned with on the ice. And I mean whirlwind - in the space of 24-48 hours Lowe leaves home, arrives in the city, is seduced by his mature landlady, gets on the wrong side of a brutal hockey player, wins a spot on the team, gets caught with his pants down by the coach's daughter Cynthia Gibb, subsequently starts a flirtation with her, is hazed by the team members in a rather humiliating fashion and wins the respect of veteran player Patrick Swayze. One can accuse the film of much, but being boring is certainly not one of them. There are things that work well in the film. The hockey scenes seem authentic and rousing, even though there is rarely ever any doubt about where the film is headed. Lowe and Gibb share a certain amount of chemistry and the camaraderie among the teammates (including an unknown at the time Keanu Reeves) feels accurate. Swayze is also fairly solid in a typical role of semi-mentor. Unfortunately, the film is hampered by its formula. There are certain steps that it needs to hit by rote and it is at best moderately enjoyable to see it hit them. Part of the problem rests with the leading man. At the time, Lowe was dismissed as little better than a Teen Beat sensation, which is a bit unfair. However, even his most ardent Fans must admit that Lowe fares much better in ensemble pieces (The West Wing, The Stand, Brothers and Sisters) where his shortcomings can be muted than he does as a leading man, where his lack of charisma starts to come into play. Despite his hard work, Lowe never seems completely believable or at ease in the central role, which has a tendency to throw the film off its stride. Yet there are still reasons to watch. Hockey fans will enjoy the on-ice action, romance fans will probably find something to like in the relationship between Lowe and Gibb, and Lowe fans will have the guilty pleasure of seeing him in what has become his essential nude scene - embarrassed and trapped in a public hallway in a filled to capacity jockstrap while being ogled by Gibb. Any of those aspects are certainly worth a painless couple of hours to take in the film.

I found myself bored by this movie. Firstly, I did not like Rob Lowe or Cynthia Gibb in this movie. I found their characters predictable and cliché and their romance even more so. I did like Patrick Swayze, I though he gave a good performance. But I have to say in a movie like this it isn't good to judge performances as the material isn't very hard to act.My main problem was as I said, it doesn't capture your attention and i'm mostly talking about the hockey games. I felt like their wasn't even an effort to make the action interesting. I should have been cheering the characters on at that last hockey game but I bored. I guess my opinion is a bit biased after watching the Maurice Richard movie whose hockey sequences were rivaled by no one else in their excitement and joy.I certainly would not recommend this movie to hockey fans. Maybe the lingering Rob Lowe fans would enjoy it but i found this to be a boring and unmoving film even for a teen movie.