Meet Mr. Karma

4 Minute Mile is a professional and perfunctory sports movie, devoid of passion or purpose. It’s as if director Charles-Olivier Michaud and screenwriters Josh Campbell and Jeff Van Wie received a homework assignment to deliver a Disneyesque movie along the lines of The Rookie or Invincible, but with enough of an Indy feel and gritty storyline to merit a PG-13 rating and banishment from the Magic Kingdom. We’re left with a Disney After Dark production, if a such a film company existed, and a Debbie Downer experience. Michaud and his writers merit no more than a C on this assignment.

Interestingly, 4 Minute Mile does not have the tag line, “Inspired By True Events.” One would think that the immersion into complete fiction would be liberating, but the narrative too often reverts back to cliche. (more…)