A scene from 'Youngblood'

Youngblood review: A new focus makes a winning remake

‘Youngblood’ follows a young amateur hockey player whose undisciplined play could keep him from ever going pro.

Youngblood follows a player whose career is stunted when he can’t get out of his own way.

Dean Youngblood (Ashton James) has the potential to be a great hockey player. His father (Blair Underwood) was a scrapper and he expects Dean to follow in his footsteps. Except Dean has talent and finesse. Unfortunately, his attempts at being an enforcer overshadows his natural abilities. When he joins the Hamilton Mustangs during their playoff run, his new no-nonsense coach (Shawn Doyle) is going to help him learn the hard way.

This film tells the opposite story of its predecessor. In that picture, the young hockey prospect played by Rob Lowe only earns his success when he becomes tough enough to take it out of his bully’s face. In this update, Dean lacks discipline and needs to learn not to drop his gloves so readily. Consequently, the narrative also shines a spotlight on toxic masculinity.

The picture centres on 18-year-old Dean’s coming of age story. Moving away from home, Dean is finally able to question his indoctrination and its effect on his career. The hockey is secondary to the storytelling, but there’s enough skill on the ice that it still manages to be relatively exciting.

Read my full review of Youngblood at thatshelf.com.

Director: Hubert Davis
Starring: Ashton James, Blair Underwood and Shawn Doyle

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