User Reviews

Several years ago ESPN made a decision that they were going to expand their vision and focus to include original entertainment programming. This has led to a slew of made-for-TV films, dramatic mini-series, and specials about fictional or historical sports personalities and events. Although the acronym ESPN has always stood for Entertainment Sports Programming Network, ESPN never had the desire, budget, or ability to produce this type of original entertainment. Just like MTV has become less about music videos and more about reality TV, dramas, soap operas, and animated series, ESPN seems to be headed down the same wrong path. That's why when I saw the trailers for '3' the last couple weeks, I figured it would be poorly done and over-dramatized just like every other original project ESPN has touched. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case. Barry Pepper, who has been good in everything else I've seen him in, puts on a good performance this time too. I've never been a fan of auto sports, or Dale Earnhardt for that matter, but I was entertained by this movie every bit of the way.

Being a die-hard NASCAR fan you have to look at this movie with a different eye than the general public. For example, the movie should have been longer. With "3" being only 90 minutes long they skipped some very critical points in Dale Earnhardt's life. Such as the creation of his company/team DEI, Dale Earnhardt Inc. Or the refusal to go to Adam Petty's funeral when he was killed in a stock car during a practice run. Adam was one of his son's best friends and because Dale Sr. did not attend, Dale Jr. did not go. How about his rival with Jeff Gordon? Or even his son's first Winston Cup win at Texas or his son winning 2 back-to-back Busch Championships. When Dale Jr. set history and won the Winston in his Rookie year as the first Rookie to win. That was an important day for the Earnhardt family. Not to take away from the movie but I do believe that Barry Pepper did a great job at Dale Earnhardt. The story was good and it showed some of the hard times he went through to get to the Winston Cup. For that reason I give this Film a rating of 8/10.

Just finished watching this movie and I thought it was very well done. Barry Pepper was probably the the best actor for this movie, he pulled off the look perfectly. This movie did a great job of retelling Dale Earnhardt's life story. They also did a great job of mixing old race footage into this movies footage. Some things I didn't like, I thought the story was a little rushed, and some of the important events were left out. The racing wasn't as intense as that in Days of Thunder, but the story made up for it. If you don't know why they called this guy the best in Nascar you better watch this movie, great movie I give it a 7/10.

"3: The Dale Earnhardt Story" isn't going to win a lot of non-Nascar fans over to the sport, but as a biography, it is well-made, offers some believable insights on what made Earnhardt the often enigmatic person he was, and, in Barry Pepper, provides an eerily close approximation to the 'look' and 'feel' of the racing legend. Pepper will certainly receive an Emmy nomination for the role, and delivers such a powerful portrayal that you nearly forget how good the rest of the cast is.

While Elizabeth Mitchell is more glamorous than the real Teresa Earnhardt, she is quite solid and believable in the role; to truly appreciate how important Teresa's intelligence and business acumen were to Dale, it would have required a much longer movie, and might have seriously tilted the story away from Dale's other relationships, and the balance that Pepper and director Russell Mulcahy achieved.

Dale's early years come off best in the film, with a wonderful performance by J.K. Simmons as the inspirational Ralph Earnhardt. The grittiness and 'backwoods blue-collar' feel of Earnhardt's upbringing is well-conveyed, and reminiscent of "Coal Miner's Daughter" and "The River". The film loses a bit of steam when Dale begins racing, and as he achieves success, a lot of memorable moments had to be edited out, or telescoped down, which has disappointed some Earnhardt fans. Considering the time and budget constraints, however, I found the story to be remarkably accurate.

The young actors who portrayed Dale's children as adults should be singled out for recognition; race car driver/first-time actor Chad Mcumbee, while low-key, is pretty impressive as Dale Jr., conveying both a pride in his father, and frustration in being 'held back' so he could complete his education before being permitted to race; Corri English, while too cute, has an infectious smile and manner, and exhibits the Earnhardt joy of fast cars; best of all is newcomer Frank Glidden as oldest son Kerry, who, in a few brief scenes, offers a balanced, sensitive interpretation of the son Dale abandoned, finally winning his father's attention and respect, even as he sees Dale Jr. outshining him on the track. I look forward to seeing more of Glidden's work in future!

While there will certainly be a more detailed and polished feature film about Earnhardt in the future, this ESPN production is not without it's own merits, and provides an entertaining, dramatic overview of the racing legend's life.

I am sure this was a good movie for those who knew who Dale Earhart was BEFORE he died. For the rest of us, it is just OK.

The movie stars Barry Pepper as Dale Earnhart. Pepper has done some good work before (The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, The Green Mile), and puts forth an excellent performance here.

J.K. Simmons (The Closer, Law & Order) was also very good as Ralph Earnhart, Dale's father.

As I said, if you are into NASCAR, then you will enjoy this movie. Of course, if you are a rabid NASCAR and Dale Earnhart fan, then I doubt that 88 minutes will satisfy you.

My biggest fear with "3" is that its release will now prevent the possibility of a bona fide Hollywood feature biopic -- a treatment the Dale Earnhardt story certainly merits.

Earnhardt's real-life tale is already a perfectly written script, so it would have been difficult for the makers of "3" to produce a wholesale screw-up. But there's something missing from this latest in ESPN's noteworthy series of sports films. It would have been easy for "3" to go overboard in any number of directions -- too much on-track action, too much melodrama, too much hero-worship. Instead, you get the feeling that filmmakers sensed this danger and wound up with the opposite problem: too much restraint.

There are several strands of storytelling running through "3," and because none of them is done justice, the film ends without any impact (quite literally, in fact). The themes of father-son bonding, of growing into yourself, of separating yourself from the pack -- all are ultimately shortchanged by a movie that can't quite seem to figure out which tale it wants to tell.

As a Sunday night TV movie, "3" stands out: Barry Pepper largely succeeds in his portrayal of a Carolina boy gone big-time, and Elizabeth Mitchell does well as Earnhardt's patient and intelligent wife. It doesn't do anything disastrously wrong; it just doesn't quite do everything right. Here's hoping Hollywood still sees an opening for a full-scale picture that gives Earnhardt's story the penetrating delivery it deserves.

3:The Dale Earnhardt Story had not been a widely advertised movie, to be truthful it hadnt been advertised at all around here, and that to me really is a shame, because it is a lot better movie then a lot of the crap that they're putting out nowadays.

I myself am a stock car driver, and who else do i look up to other then Dale Earnhardt himself, on the track I've lived by the quote that Ralph tells dale "The winner isn't the man with the faster car, it is the man that refuses to lose", that among others of course.

I know i watch this movie every day for sure, and i highly recommend it to anyone. Not just race fans.

A highly anticipated and long awaited biographical account of the life and times of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story entertains, enthralls, but simply falls short on detail. To the normal viewer who is not a NASCAR fan, the story appears to be complete. However, any fan of the sport knows quite well that the story told in this work is incomplete. Indeed, to expect the director to encompass the life story of a legend into one movie is a monumental task in and of itself, and the director does a barely suitable job at this. Many of the historical nuances in the film are blurred and some casting choices are poor. However, the actors did an impressive job, despite this. Overall, an informative and valiant biography for the casual observer, but true, die-hard fans may find fault with this film.

Dale Earnhardt was a great NASCAR driver, and he was a man who rose from working class roots to become a wealthy man. He was a highly competitive man, (a must for NASCAR racing), who always seemed to feel that he had something to prove to others. His family life wasn't perfect, and he could be a tough man to love, but his dedication to winning earned him millions of fans around the world. His popularity was at its peak when he died in the 2001 Daytona 500. This movie was simply sports film-making at its finest. Pepper should be in line for many awards for this role, and this should make him a major Hollywood star. Earnhardt's life wasn't perfect, but this movie is about as close to perfect as a bio pic can get. Catch this movie, and you'll understand why "Big E", and son "Little E" (Dale, Jr) really are loved by millions of working-class people.

OK, it's not hard to be better than "Greased Lightning" or "Last American Hero" but it's also better than "Heart Like A Wheel" and that was a good one. "3" is not a documentary, so all the fans out there who will quibble at the slightest error will have lots to carp about.

Nevertheless, this is a well-done homage to Dale Earnhardt Sr. It portrays the normal friction and affection between generations as well as implying "the Intimidator's" drive to win.

No, the racing scenes aren't all perfect and the character portrayals are sometimes almost caricatures (Neil Bonnett, Humpy Wheeler) but it still held my attention. The press preview was very well received by people who knew the man well.

Barry Pepper, with the help of Hollywood prosthetics, looks eerily like the real Dale. He also portrays a good deal of the real Dale's speech mannerisms and gestures.

There will be three primary opinions of this made-for-TV film: well done; ho-hum; how dare they?! It'll be interesting to see what all the "fans" who arrived in the NASCAR fold in the last five or six years will say, compared to those older fans who remember a schedule of three races a week and purses that might hit $10,000(total!) for most races.

I will preface this by say I have been a Dale Earnhardt fan since nearly the beginning of his NASCAR career. Dale was born 2 day before me, which I initially thought was cool, but later became an inspiration to keep at it, always do your best and never give up or accept second best. Additionally, he owned a Chevy dealership which sold vehicle, some of which were made in the GM plant where I work. Fully half of my NASCAR collection is Earnhardt memorabilia.

They casted this movie well, especially Dale. The older race footage was great. Many of the regular scene were well done. But as for the character development...I feel that Hollywood invention was used a little too often, and too many known points were omitted. Granted, much of Ralph Earnhardt had to be created using sketchy material. Surely, there was not a long line of eye witness/friends/acquaintances to draw from. However, there was a lot of Dale info that seems to have been passed over.

Overall, this was not a happy story, start to finish. Yes, there were a few bright moments, but never any happy periods. And there was always a club waiting to knock down any happiness that dared to raise its head. While it makes for a good movie, there are far too many factual stories that create a happier, more optimistic person than the one created in this movie.

Known stuff that coulda/shoulda made it into the movie.

Dale was a AVID hunter and fisherman...not just a person who enjoyed it. He was once quoted as saying the only 3 things he wanted to do his whole life was race, hunt and fish. He also said he couldn't picture a time when he wasn't racing anymore. He frequently appeared on hunting and fishing shows. It was more than a pass time to him. And anyone who saw him on these shows saw a happy, not melancholy individual.

Dale was also a very accomplished guitar player, and a fair singer. Videos of him playing with some of Country Music's biggest star exist. They played one at his funeral. His guitar sat prominently beside his coffin.

Teresa, behind Dale and with Dale built a powerful business empire, including DEI and the aforementioned Chevy dealership. Teresa has a very skilled business mind. Anything with him or his name on it was licensed through DEI. The company made millions off his name, and will for years to come.

Dale loved racing of all kinds, he would be up early talking to other racers about races from all over the world he had listened to on the shortwave or satellite the night before. His veins and arteries were filled with race cars instead of blood.

Dale used to love his fans as much as they loved him. He signed autograph and took pictures more than almost anyone else. One of my friends has a stunning full face of Dale in his car getting ready to go onto the track for practice. When Dale saw the camera, he smiled and waved to my friend. It is poster grade and worth a mint if he ever decides to part with it.

Dale did as much or more to bring up young drivers than anyone else. He loved to see other success as well. Junior, Rob Hornaday, Steve Park, Kevin Harvick are just a few he aided. Despite the way the built and played on the animosity angle between Dale and Darrel Waltrip, who did more to help Darrel's brother Michael? Dale gave the perpetual also ran Michael a ride and coached him to be a winner, lest we forget Michael got his first career win after hundreds of starts just seconds after dale's fatal crash.

Kelly might be the best driver of the Earnhardt kids. Anyone who follows racing knows Kerry has never made it, while Junior is right there at the top. Several people who know the Earnhardts claim Kelly is the best driver of the three kids, but being a girl, never received a chance to prove it.

Aside from that, my one complaint with the movie is the created race action.

It was like Rocky or any martial arts film. While you can bump and grind a lot at a Bristol, Martinsville or other short tracks, the kind of interaction between cars on the bigger tracks just doesn't exist, at least without a crash occurring. It makes for good movie, but the crunches they show on the bigger tracks are fantasy, any true race fans know it.

You can't really put this man's life in perspective like this. He was just too good on the track. This was a pretty good movie. Some things I did and didn't like about it though. First why are they showing Dale having an affair with a woman. Imagine all the kids watching it that really looked up to him. They are probably ashamed now. Also why couldn't the movie end like everything did in real life. The film ended as soon as Dale wrecked in the 500. All you see is Ken Schrader running to his car. I think it should have shown the ambulance trip and everything that unfolded up through Mike Helton's announcement. As painful as it was when it happened, the ending would have been better with all that. I did think the film was done well overall and I did enjoy it. Two thumbs up!!!!

Would have been better with some Shake and Bake. Solid marks for the mustache, though.

To those of you complaining that this picture isn't this or it doesn't do that ... IT'S JUST A MOVIE.

I am a NASCAR fan, though not an Earnhardt fan. I enjoyed the movie and thought it offered a little insight into what made Dale Earnhardt tick - from his relationship with his father and failed loves to the relationship with his own children.

Barry Pepper did an admirable job portraying Earnhardt. Kudos to him.

The film gave you the basic story andn did as well as it could in two hours. Hey, that's a lot of ground to cover!

As far as footage not being shot at every track, again - it's a movie!

There are far worse things on TV today, like Survivor and all that reality dreck. This was entertaining.

I would have liked more of a look at the behind-the-scenes stuff at the tracks, such as how The Intimidator interacted with other drivers.

How about 3 II!

Well I finally saw it and... I loved it!!! I was very impressed with this movie. It was a lot better than what I had been lead to believe. Not that I had been lead to believe it was bad of course. This movie made me teary eyed at some points. That is very hard to achieve in a movie in my opinion. It takes a lot to make me teary eyed and this movie certainly went passed that point.

Barry Pepper's acting in this movie was excellent!!! His performance was truly memorable. I never knew he was such a good actor until I saw this movie. I will be sure to see more movies with him in them in the near future. This guy should be a lot more famous than he is right now. He should be able to get more acting jobs in Hollywood. There is such a shortage of good actors nowadays and a lot of the good actors are dead now. It is such a shame that a lot of good actors nowadays are almost unknown. Barry Pepper's case is a prime example of this problem.

10/10

I can't believe how much the persons cast for the roles portray the role they are playing. I was very touched by the way the movie ended. It has to be a difficult task to play a role and fill the shoes of one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen. What a great tribute to the man who has left such a legacy for all who miss him so terribly. The movie gave a great inside look at the pressure and the stamina needed to become a strong and stable force in such a demanding arena. NASCAR has changed so dramatically over the years and this great man is part of the reason for that change. This movie does an excellent job of demonstrating what is takes to survive.

In my part of Virginia NASCAR is as common as Peanut Butter in a grocery store. Everywhere you go, you are going to see it. It is either on cars, on shirts, on billboards, or anywhere else that your eyes may wonder. Most of the material still pays respect to the number "3" and the driver that will forever be missed. It pulls people to the track to see that number and thankfully everyone can profit off the commercial success of this driver's death. Sadly, ESPN also did this and the result was the ill-fated made-for-TV-movie, 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story starring the "I need work bad" actor, Berry Pepper. Literally racing through the life of this legend, this film boasts a simple 88 minutes and vaguely covers whatever it can to give rabid fans just a taste of this man's life. Instead of giving him the proper respect, ESPN uses clichés and over-bearing family moments that just scream "made-for-TV". With Pepper's accent fading in and out within races, you cannot help but laugh at this cheaply designed model created by director Russell Mulcahy.

So, what went wrong with this film? Since the word "everything" will not cover all of it, I will attempt to explain in some detail. I cannot stress this fact enough that if an actor looks like the person that you are trying to portray, it does not mean that he or she will do a good job (see the Charlize Theron theory). This goes for Barry Pepper, who just never really gave Earnhardt any personality. I felt like I was watching the story of one of those paper cutout dolls. Sure, his costumes and appearance would change, but nothing else would. His motions and emotions were forced and never really felt like I was watching the life of NASCAR's greatest, but instead seeing an actor do an impersonation of someone that he admires. Pepper would not have Executive Produced this film if he wasn't already an Earnhardt fan (or at least could see the $$ made from the death of a human). The same could be said about the rest of the actors in this film. The children felt and sounded like paper mache, never quite seeming that comfortable in front of the camera … especially Dale Jr. I felt as if a gust of wind could have made him cry. In fact, all the performances in this film coupled with a gust of wind made me cry.

As I mentioned earlier, the timing on this film seemed very off. How can you successfully measure the power of a man in a short span of 88 minutes? There is just no way that you are going to be able to cover the depth and emotional excitement in this short time. So, the creative team behind this film chose to ignore these moments and extend the racing scenes. The outcome was literally horrible. There was no balance, there was no craft, there was nothing actually paying respect to this man. The story is where I could see the minds of the cash hungry people just getting bigger and bigger because they were going to do a story about a man life that millions would want to see. They would want to see it not because it was good, but because the Earnhardt name was solely attached to it. For a non-NASCAR fan like myself, this was kind of sad. How can you have the life of Howard Hughes pushing three hours, and NASCAR powerhouse Dale Earnhardt just 88 minutes? I guess you can over compensate by giving the viewers some extra features to the DVD, but for me that just didn't work. The story was sloppy and completely disgraced Earnhardt's name.

Overall, this proved to me that if you give a bunch of rednecks a camera, this is the quality of work that they will produce. This was one of the worst autobiographical stories that I have seen in a very long time, even for the likes of "made for TV" it was horrible. There was nothing redeemable in this story that I could go back to friends or family and say, "Well, this part was kinda neat". There was nothing of the sort here. I walked away from the film with less of an understanding about Earnhardt and his NASCAR business. Even if you are a huge NASCAR fan, I do not think you will see the value in this film. I especially love reading other reviews that say that this was a great film, but lacked some major elements to Dale's life. Isn't that like a double negative? Good film, but somehow you forgot to mention this? I think some are just too generous with this story. I am sad that he died, but this is not the way to pay respect to the man's life.

Grade: * out of *****

I've watched "3" almost three times since it's debut Saturday night. I watched it in its entirety and then the better part of the last hour twice afterward. The last half hour is heartbreaking and very well done. After all the hype, I feared "3" wouldn't meet expectations, especially for Earnhardt fans. On the contrary, it exceeded them for me. You're not going to please everyone trying to tell the life story of a man like Dale Earnhardt in less than two hours. The main quibble I had was not telling the story of the lucky penny Dale carried during his Daytona 500 win. A minor criticism to be sure.

The casting and performances were outstanding. Hard to believe the actor who convincingly played another one of my sports heroes, Roger Maris, could also deliver a performance as Earnhardt deserving of an Emmy nomination.

As a longtime Earnhardt fan, I sometimes had to remind myself I was watching a movie and not Sportscentury. Barry Pepper, please play Johnny Unitas.

I won't spoil the touching way the tragic ending was handled, but if you don't shed a tear or ten, you'd better check your pulse.

I've always hated racing and would never sit down and watch a race, however this movie was the best film I've seen in a long time. Barry Pepper did an excellent job playing the "Intimidator". I would definitely recommend this film to anyone. I will still refuse to watch a race. I just don't think racing is a sport!! Especially when it was based on running moonshine. To me it's all recreation. If you haven't seen the movie check it out. ESPN is over playing the film anyway. Well it'll turn out to be like "*61"(Another great Barry Pepper film). HBO showed that movie over and over again, and now you can't find it on. Well to all you race fans, yes racing sucks, and it shouldn't be a sport. Watch the movie even if you're not a race fan. It's nothing like that BS movie "Days of Thunder"(Awful Movie).

You know as I was watching the movie I couldn't help but think that this Barry Pepper guy that was playing as Dale did an excellent job at it. The movie was great. I would give it 100. Dale Earnhardt didn't die because of someone was sick and tired of him winning all the time he died because he did what he loved. That is what matters the most. When he was growing up his dad was always hard on him. Finally one day he said he was going to be just like his daddy, by god he was. He grew up to be a race car driver. Dale Earnhardt Sr touched so many people's lives. He was the best race car driver anyone could ask for. He has won so many car races. He was the 7 time winning champion. He may have started off having a rough life but he made it for it in the end. I am happy to say that Dale Earnhardt Sr you are so many peoples role models and you are still today touching so many lives. He maybe gone and in his grave but always remember he is flying over each and everyone of us with wings and he is up in heaven still racing and winning. Sadley gone but not forgotten.

We love you Dale Earnhardt

It followed the typical formula of all TV docudramas, but was insightful and necessary for Dale fans. It was a little bit thin, but you really can't tell Dale's whole story in just 2 hours. I saw some facts about Dale that I didn't know before. You have to wonder how accurate it is though, like all TV movies. It could have used more personalities from other NASCAR drivers to round it out. There was just the dynamic between Earnhardt and Waltrip displayed in the film, but I'm sure much more existed in reality. For instance, taking Darrell's brother Michael onto his team would have added some dimension. Bottom line,non-NASCAR fans probably tuned out early...NASCAR fans watched the whole thing. Glad I saw it, but wouldn't watch it twice.

I'm not a racing fan, in fact I can't stand racing because of the idol worship that goes on in my family for Dale Earnhardt & Dale Earnhardt Jr. So in away I was forced to watch this movie, because every set in the house was set for ESPN. I was surprised I like the movie not because of the racing but because it showed the human side of a racer. It showed his faults and his strengths and it showed he was human. Whether the stories were true or false or embellished it didn't matter because the story was good and the acting fantastic. I think if you spent all of your time looking for what wasn't there or what wasn't told you missed a very well done film. I'm sure due to copyright laws and trademarks, the movie producers had to cheat a little in order to get the point across without breaking any laws, and I understand some of the racetracks were already in use when filming began so they used what they could. So I spent two hours watching 3 for what it was a movie that depicted a legend in racing. It wasn't a documentary, it was a 90 minute movie that highlighted some of the high points in a mans life and career and some of the low points. Did it entertain, yes, and thats what really counts.