If I Had Wings (2013) User Reviews

Superb family film

[MattyGibbs · 8/10 · 7 November 2014]

If I had Wings is a family film about a blind kid who wants to be a runner but needs a running partner. He teams up with a troubled youth in a bid to win a race.

To get the negatives out the way first this is a film we have seen a million times before, the troubled kid with a good heart, the bad guy Jock, the standard family film plot template.

For all it's predictability this still manages to be a very enjoyable and well above average film of its genre. This is mainly due to an excellent cast who all do a good job with the script they have. In particular Jaren Brandt Bartlett who is superb as the charismatic bad boy turned good.

The film is fast paced and flows well and there are some well executed laughs to be had along with the drama had as well. This is a film that can be enjoyed by all the family, a pretty rare occurrence these days. Highly recommended.

Great story with multiple angles

[davidball33 · 8/10 · 23 June 2015]

I enjoyed the film and the various story lines presented kept me interested and kept the plot moving. A good watch.

As a former XC runner myself, the director could have done much more research into the sport. Many facts/reality are not there, had they been I would have notched this up a bit higher. Also made the 'villain' in the movie difficult to believe because the sport doesn't typically attract those type of jocks.

The back-and-forth between the runners assigned to each other was what I found most intriguing.

Good cinematography that helped tell a well-written story.

Positive story/message, but lacked quality in a couple pretty important aspects

[jfh7396 · 6/10 · 6 July 2015]

I'll make it relatively short and sweet/right to the point…

Positives: -Had a good positive story/message; -Decent original idea; -Characters were likable

Negatives: -The dialogue was way too cheesy; -Too many of the cast member's acted way too poorly; -In certain scenes, there were things that I noticed that could've been either the director's or the editors fault (for example: in the end, when Brad says to his little brother, "It's okay little bro…Seriously, it's okay", that seemed like a part where the little brother still felt really bad for not listening to Brad and Brad was trying to assure him that is really was okay… and that seems more like it was the editor's fault, than the director…unless the director just totally decided to take that part in the script a whole other way); -And then a couple other things. But the number one thing that annoyed me was how cheesy and uncreative the dialogue was.

Loved this film!

[mmgibbs48 · 9/10 · 25 April 2014]

This was a really heartwarming film that struck a lot of the right chords: overcoming a disability; having tolerance and respect for persons who are different in terms of culture, race, or ability; and meeting the challenges of single parenthood. During the screening I attended in Vancouver in April, young people in the audience were well engaged and, in the climactic race scene, cheering on the hero. It's a well-paced film with high production values.

One of the challenges of a classic overcoming-the-odds film is making the characters and their situation believable. This film achieved a good level of credibility by giving all characters, both the good and the bad, a mix of traits. The hero has his faults, just as the less likable characters have their moments of grace and remorse.

The film is well acted throughout. It was a testament to Richard Harmon's acting that, in a Q&A session following the screening I attended, one of the audience asked whether the actor is blind or sighted.

A Blessing in Disguise

[brandaope · 10/10 · 12 February 2016]

This is a wonderful story that makes us feel complete. Besides all problems and difficulties, human beings are put into test. Most of them are able to show their capability to overcome whichever comes as a barrier. This is basically what this movie is about.

As a teacher, I not only recommend it as I use this story to work with my students aiming to show them they can always go beyond they think they can. Moreover, they can see with this example that complaining over silly things won't help them achieve their goals or even make them better people.

Once again, I strongly recommend this movie if you're looking forward to being a better human being. =)

Such a good movie but not too keen on the ending

[hannahmatthes · 9/10 · 19 May 2016]

This movie was so beautiful, I really loved it. The story was so sweet and the acting was so great. But I had one problem that I'm sure many viewers may have...The whole time I was so expecting the two main guys to develop a romantic relationship... it was suggested so much and not just because I was expecting it. The ending seemed unnecessary and as if they were avoiding the inevitable. I didn't quite get it? They made it seem as if they were going to get together, but then literally in the last 10 minutes decided "nope, let's keep this heterosexual' and introduced new relationships with no chemistry or story? Other than that slight letdown, it was an amazing movie and a must watch!

actual cross country runners be warned!

[carmellarayone · 3/10 · 19 June 2015]

OK this movie really could have been good. If they had done one ounce of research about cross country. I am a high school cross country runner and I was pretty much just laughing and shaking my head, everything was just so painfully inaccurate. First of all, in a race they we all basically jogging. And cross country teams actually have uniforms like other sports, believe it or not. And real life cross country meets usually have 200+ runners in one race. In the movie the meets looked more like a church picnic and some little kids running around. And for crying out loud, you don't train for a race by running the course as fast as you can every day. And I know they wanted to have a jock character in it like other sports movies but trust me. Jocks don't run cross country. They play basketball or football. Cross country runners are usually awkward nerds. So yeah. Next time try talking two someone who know jack about what your movie is about.

Nice movie, my wife called it "An after-school special."

[TxMike · 15 June 2015]

We found this nice small movie on Netflix streaming movies. It is simple and pretty predictable but has good messages for family and growing up. A Canadian movie shot in beautiful Canada.

Richard Harmon is Alex Taylor, blind since an unfortunate accident when he was 2. As such he doesn't really remember not being blind, and isn't one to feel sorry for himself. He is good enough in this role that I had to check and see if he really is blind. He doesn't appear to be.

He likes to run and he goes trail running with his dad, keeping his right hand on dad's left shoulder and getting audio clues like "Right turn 2 o'clock in 4, 3, 2 now." Alex and his dad think he would be good on the high school's cross-country team, but to do so Alex would need to find a running partner also on the team.

Jaren Brandt Bartlett is the bad kid who always seems to be with the wrong crowd, Brad Coleman. He also likes to run, unfortunately sometimes it is with a money bag he has just stolen from an unsuspecting merchant. He can get one more chance to turn his life around if he will run cross-country and be the running guide for Alex.

Some issues are resolved too easily and quickly, but through a series of steps and missteps it finally works out, both are on the team, and in the season championship we will see if it pays off.

Craig Bierko is good as the dad, Geoff Taylor and Jill Hennessy (with the husky voice) is good as the worried mom, Sandy Taylor. I especially like Lorne Cardinal as Angus Coleman, the dad of the bad kid Brad. He creates his character and plays it very believably, and at times funny when appropriate. I had never heard of him before but I'd like to see him in other roles.

SPOILERS: The biggest jerk in the movie is the athletic kid Tyson, who also was the star of the cross-country team. He was not nice to Alex, because he felt threatened that this blind kid might show him up. And in fact that is what happens in the final race, the finish is across an open field, so Brad turns Alex loose, tells him to sprint, and he beats Tyson by a bulging chest. Nice feel-good ending.

Great story

[mdfreitas · 8/10 · 1 May 2016]

If I had wings is an inspiring movie about a blind guy who dreams to run "in the cross country", but to do this, he needs a running partner, where a wonderful friendship begins.

Besides all difficulties, human beings and differences each other, Alex and Brad, the guys overcome all obstacles what touching me, makes me think about my life. Moreover, it is touching the incentive relationship, support and care that the boys receive by their parents, showing how important their presence.

I really recommend this movie because the motivation and the lessons as a teamwork without intent to harm each other, which we must add to our lives.

Incredible!

[danbaig · 10/10 · 27 February 2021]

I absolutely loved this film!! Wonderful story. Great chemistry with the leads. Beautiful ending! Simply incredible!!

Powerful and emotional

[ResidentEvil2Fan · 10/10 · 16 February 2020]

If I Had Wings is deep, provocative, well-written, well acted and emotional. The story is moving, a blind teenager named Alex who wants to race for his high school cross country team, but needs a guide for the course and he is teamed up with a fellow student named Brad, who is a bad boy.

The moral lessons in this film are worth taking note and I will avoid going too deep into them, but loyalty is something I picked up on as one of the moral messages.

And the climatic scene is my favorite scene in the movie. Alex and Brad race their way to 2nd and 3rd and Brad sacrifices his race, actually quits the race, and gives Alex a boost to beat Tyson, the bully on the team, all the while being set to Ray Charles' So Help Me God. Just a moving scene that will leave you trying to hold back tears.

Silly and trite

[qui_j · 2/10 · 28 June 2023]

This film is simply rubbish! It's a kind of "feel good" movie that envisions a fantasy world, one that has nothing to do with the real world. It's a trite little tale, completely predictable and unimaginative, based on a script that appears to be written by a child. The atmosphere is all "unicorns and cotton candy", where everyone is just so sweet, with the exception of the high school bully, who plays the part as expected. It's a movie for the Hallmark channel, or maybe Canadian TV, where everything has to be made sugar coated. It seems to be a family production and really is completely divorced from real life.

Don't waste your time.

[moviesjc · 9 March 2023]

I would not waste your time watching this film. It was bad in every way. The acting, screenplay, direction, music. The music is so loud with singing while they are running but they are TALKING while running and you can't understand or hear them because of the loud music. The acting is wooden and pretty over the top. The direction I thought was like a Lifetime movie and what do you know the Director is from Lifetime movies. You can feel it as soon as you start watching it. The blind kid was not bad in it but to have all these stereotypes around him made it hard to watch. You really laugh at the all the cliche lines and characters in it.