Overview: A struggling coach and teacher who has been had to move around for different incidents in his career finally comes to one of the poorest cities in America- McFarland, California. There he discovers buried potential among several high school boys and slowly turns them into championship runners and brings them closer than even he could ever imagine.

Blu ray Verdict: Kevin Costner is basically the king of sports films and when he stars in a Disney sport film it is a match made in heaven. 'McFarland USA' is a relatively unknown true story about a California cross-country running team. Race is a common theme of the film much like other Disney sports films like 'Million Dollar Arm' and 'Remember the Titans.' Disney tends to follow a similar format for their sports movies and McFarland USA is no exception, but Costner is so lovable in the league and it is hard not to become a sucker for that underdog story.

The story, as mentioned above, is an inspiring underdog tale, with a lot of heart, in classic sports film tradition. Costner is great in the leading role and the supporting cast, of mostly young unknown Hispanic actors, are all good too. The directing is decent, for this type of film, as well; but I think Caro's previous work is much better. While this movie goes through all the right motions, and does what it's basically supposed to, that's also (basically) all it does; there's nothing refreshing or original to it. I also found it quite boring, at times, due to it's clichéd nature and tired overused melodrama. It's an inspiring story though and Costner is especially good in it. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Feature of:

McFarland Reflections
"Juntos" - Music Video
Inspiring McFarland
Deleted & Extended Scenes