While hard to justify, this fictionalized portrayal of a young LeBron James and his high school team’s rise is buoyed by five young actors.
Knowing that every inch of LeBron James’s life and career has been covered by the media in the past, it may be hard to justify “Shooting Stars,” a film focused not exactly on James’s rise as a phenom but instead on his high school squad. The movie is in essence an adaptation not only of a memoir of the same name (written by James and the journalist Buzz Bissinger, and released in 2009), but also of another film, the 2009 documentary “More Than a Game.”
Yet for what it sets out to do, detailing the bond of young boys under surreal circumstances, “Shooting Stars” is a relatively sturdy retelling. Directed by Chris Robinson, the movie tracks the story of James and his childhood friends, a.k.a the Fab Five, over four years as they conquer the high school basketball landscape and reckon with the complications of a growing spotlight.
Remarkably, the drama is buoyed less by the implicit understanding of who James went on to become than by the young actors, who share an infectious chemistry. (It helps that they all appear to be truly good at basketball.)
The star is Marquis Cook, known as Mookie, an actual high school basketball recruit who naturally embodies a young LeBron — the boyish shyness nestled within messianic potential — likely because he is, as a young star, experiencing a version of what James did.
Shooting Stars
Rated PG-13 for strong language, some suggestive references and teen drinking. Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes. Watch on Peacock.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
