I was having one of those boring days; it got so bad I did a McDonald’s Red Box run. I was flipping through the movies looking at the small selection for something that might spark an interest. I came across Code Breakers and I read the summary for it, thought this will either be really interesting or another stupid football movie. I’m glad to say that I found a great movie.

I have no idea who any of the actors are I haven’t really seen any of them in any movies. They did a great job. The roles were acted out precisely and to the point. I saw emotion in their eyes and heard it in their voice. I’m not going to lie; some of the actors with a smaller role were horrible. They mad their problems out to be the hardest thing that a young adult could be going through, which is often the case for most of us, we don’t see to far into the future. Only the here and now matters. Great lessons are usually learned from experiences such as these, which is why I loved this movie.

The flick is about the scandal that happened in West Point Military School in the 1950’s. I had absolutely no idea there was a scandal, until I watched this movie, it was a great history lesson. The main code of West Point is Honor. Every one of the students there is honor bound to turn anyone in for cheating or for any other ethical misconduct. Often teachers will leave a classroom as they exit they say you are on the honor code, this is what West Point is based upon.

The Coach, Blaik (Scott Glenn) had a record of being undefeated for two consecutive seasons. This put a ton of pressure on his boys to be undefeated again, and that is exactly what they were headed towards until…

It is all about right and wrong. Is it more important to stand behind your teammates and not tattle on any of them, being a stonewall or is the Honor code and upholding the Army standard more important. These boys obviously chose teammates, or there wouldn’t have been a scandal. They form a ring where they take tests and pass on answers. None of them want to let their coach down and fail. If they are failing they can’t be on the team, which would instantly cause them to lose because all the main players are involved in the ring and would have otherwise failed.

George Holbrook (Jeff Roop) a cadet, who is having a hard time in physics, is threatened by the coach, that he will not be on the team if his grades don’t improve. He then falls into the ring that he was against. He struggles with his immoral decision the whole time, not wanting to break the code of Honor that is so important to him, but loving football at the same time. He winds up getting stuck in a bad situation and has to pass the test on his own. He gets out of the ring as a consequence of this.

Holbrook’s roommate Brian Nolan (HOME Improvement’s Zachery Ty Bryan) is on the swim team, is getting tons of pressure from his father, and begins to do worse in classes. Holbrook tells him he can help. Will Brian uphold his family’s tradition of keeping the honor code or will he respect his friend and not turn them in and join this ring?

I enjoyed this movie so much. The coach has a strong moral fiber; Nolan is the perfect example of a great West Point cadet. This was a great flick. It was nice to be able to relax and watch this movie spiral into the lives of cheaters. It had integrity and sports, two of my favorites. I want to be a coach myself, and I would expect a lot out of my athletes because they are the main representation of most schools. Cheating would not be an option, neither would failing. This is the perfect example of how easy it becomes for cheating to unravel and ruin the lives of young people, but in the same sense it is so tempting and easy.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older