Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

The only reason why I watched this movie was the actor Jared Leto and at the beginning it kind of looked like a slow, boring movie. I was so wrong and am now so happy to have seen it. Jared Leto did such a great job and the movie was done very well too. The story, the movie is great! Often this kind of movies about someone real can be a bit dry. Like it is just the telling of facts about a great person.But not in this movie. Prefontaine was giving facts, but also a story and a very moving, filled story. I don't only want to find out more about Fontaine, but like someone else in a review said, after watching the movie you just want to go outside and start running! I loved the very end of the movie.

I rented this one accidentally thinking it was "Without Limits" starring Billy Crudup. I had seen that before and thought it was a great telling of a terrific story. This one was garbage. The acting was generally bad -- like sitcom bad -- and the makeup was ridiculous, as silly as that sounds, but the actors were made to look older for parts of it and it looked ridiculous. In short, this movie sucks. The other one is actually really good. Don't make the same mistake I made. Get "Without Limits" instead. It's way better. I'm really annoyed I just sat through this with my wife and brother. It takes a great story and makes it super-boring. There are not nearly enough races in this movie considering it's about racing.

I rarely take the time to rate, let alone to comment on a movie I give a 6.This one has a lot going for it. When I searched IMDb, I looked for a movie of the seventies or eighties... NEVER would have thought it's not ten years old. So, at the very least, it succeeds in re-creating (or mimicking?) the atmosphere of that time, including how movies of the seventies feel. That's quite an accomplishment in itself!Jared Leto is unrecognizable (to me, at least) and very convincing...I saw this on TV. I was tempted to leave, but stayed on it until the end. The movie manages to have quite some power of attraction, although the story is rather thin after all... as is Prefontaine's character himself. There was a moment where I just became tired of everything evolving around him and his problems and success... I wondered more and more when someone would tell him there where other people in the world. But no, everyone around him is full of dedication and just wants him to win... it becomes ridiculous. The way his girlfriend, who's equally devoted as anyone else, who's there only to comfort him, NEVER to criticize him, reminded me of some movies of the seventies where women had the same kind of extreme, self-denying devotion - another reason for me to believe the movie actually WAS MADE in that time.It becomes ridiculous, the girl appears to be really brighter than to only be there for him, never encouraging him to question his self-centered attitude... I'm aware this sadly has been true for ages in most couples before the first feminist efforts told women they had a choice... and that it hasn't stopped either just because we are in the third millennium... But the movie is smart in other ways, so it feels wrong his characters aren't.Well - still, the movie has an undeniable charm. And I still recommend it, maybe because the naive side of it strikes me as rather sincere than sarcastic, and, again, because you really believe you are in the seventies. Don't run for it, but give it a shot when you can.

This is the real-life story of Oregon runner Steve Prefontaine who, despite physical imperfections, draws on inner strength of character, to set American track records, and race in the 1972 Munich Olympics. As a runner myself, I found this 1997 docudrama inspiring.But "Prefontaine" is far more than a cinematic pep talk for runners. It's a character study of an extraordinary young man from an ordinary background, his personal relationships, and his date with destiny. It is a story that has lasting value.The film's visuals and music effectively convey the look and sound of the early 70's. The acting is above average. Jared Leto is superb as Steve. Just as good is R. Lee Ermey as Steve's coach, the legendary Bill Bowerman, a man who found a way to make running shoes with the help of a waffle iron. Ed O'Neill, Breckin Meyer, and the lovely Amy Locane are good, in supporting roles.Leto's acting, combined with a clever script, portrays Pre as gutsy, determined, intense, charismatic, vulnerable, at times reckless, self-absorbed, brash, and arrogant. One of my favorite segments of dialogue has Steve and his teammate Pat Tyson jogging along, and talking about the great runner Jim Ryun. Steve comments: "Forget Jim Ryun; he's done; I'm gonna be the first Steve Prefontaine", to which Pat responds: "It must be nice to want to be yourself".Later, Pre frustratingly says to his girlfriend Nancy: "All of my life people have said to me: you're too small Pre; you're not fast enough Pre; give up your foolish dreams Steve."Pre's story is told in another film: "Without Limits"; both now available on DVD, and both good, though I prefer this Steve James directed movie.Often and rightly compared to other sports films, "Prefontaine" reminds me of a film one might not think of. Pre's life was similar in some ways to another notable person from an ordinary background, one who set out bravely on a personal quest, of sorts, and who, in the process, like Pre, made a powerful and lasting impression: Karen Silkwood.Coincidentally, Pre's fate and Karen's fate were tragically similar, and only six months apart. In both "Prefontaine" and "Silkwood", the message to the rest of us ordinary mortals is: don't underestimate your life; do your best; and make each day count. You never know when "fate" may intervene.