4 Minute Mile Movie Review

4 Minute Mile is a recent movie about running. It stars Richard Jenkins, Kelly Blatz, Analeigh Tipton, Kim Basinger, and Cam Gigandet. It was just released in theaters last August 2014.

Drew Jacobs is an aspiring track and field athlete who hopes in getting a collage scholarship to change his life. He meets a former track star, Jenkins Coleman, who coaches him to reach his goal. Jacobs used to train for the 400m event. But Coleman sees something bigger in him. Breaking the 4-minute mile is now the big dream.

As a movie, it is filled with cliches. It follows the same recipe of movies about sports. The plot is very predictable. Remember “Wax On, Wax Off”?  Well, that is even in the script. The ending is not what I expected, though. The biggest race wasn’t settled in the tracks.

Hard-core runners find the movie unrealistic. The actor doesn’t have the physique of a real 4-minute miler like Alan Webb. The foot strides are not as fast like they should be in real life. And the main character is just acting fatigue rather than experincing it in the film.

For a casual runner, I do find some inspiration in the movie. The first part of the movie have some nice quotes to motivate me to keep on running. I did write it down below for me to check back on them in case I get “bonked”. 😀

It’s been a while since I have seen movies about running. The 4 Minute Mile isn’t the greatest out there but if you have been slacking off, this movie can stir your emotions to get you back on the road.

4 Minute Mile Movie Trailer

4 Minute Mile Movie Quotes

Jacobs: Do you think a five-minute mile is fast?
Coleman: If you run 10 of them, yeah.

Quit worrying about who you’re gonna beat. Running’s not about that.

When you bonk, your muscles just run out of gas. You got nothin’, nothin’… but your heart.

Tell someone they can’t do it and they won’t. Running is not just physical. It’s in your head.

Patience. It takes a lot of it to be a runner.

That’s what’s holding you back. The pain. You gotta learn to overcome it. You gotta embrace it, run through it. Then you can let it go.

Face that fear, it’ll change your life.

Check out more films about running at Amazon.com.