“Youngblood” (2025) is a Canadian remake of the 1986 film, which I never saw. Hot head Dean Youngblood (Ashton James) moves from Southfield in Detroit to Hamilton, Ontario to accept a last chance to play hockey for a shot at the National Hockey League. Will he learn how to play as a team member and become the Jackie Robinson of hockey? This lifeless, one note film is functional, but never raises the pulse at game time. It is as if someone took a sports film then surgically drained it of anything that could elicit excitement or interest.
“Youngblood” feels as if it is one hour forty-four minutes of people lecturing the protagonist without differentiating the tone until the denouement that the lessons are contradictory. His dad, Blaine (Blair Underwood), wants to toughen his younger son up and teaches him to fight, but then when Dean adheres to dad’s lessons, he gets disgusted and leaves the game before they can meet. Even as the mean disciplinarian, Underwood still gets enough lines, so he does not become the stereotypical bad dad. Coach Hall (Allan Hawco) does not want Dean on his team despite his talent because of his reputation. His daughter and hockey player, Jessie (Alexandra McDonald), becomes the obligatory love interest who reveals how much Dean has in common with her dad, and Freud called. He has his appointment book wide open and waiting for her to drop in for a little visit. There are a few lines devoted to the issues that women hockey players face in getting opportunities and recognition so she can be more of a genuine person than a plot device who only exists for Dean’s character development, but it is extremely limited and superficial. Also, even though Dean lives in a world where he walks around with a target on his back, and in one case, an opposing player in Detroit makes monkey noises, the interracial relationship is shockingly devoid of controversy.
After some initial hazing, team captain Denis Sutton (Henri Richer-Picard, who makes Timothée Chalamet jealous over how well he is aging) becomes his best friend. The other team members are barely differentiated except for a scene where they bond over having a “hockey dad.” They appear to be his first friends, which is weird, and outside of them, his only friend before immigrating was his older brother, Kelly (Emidio Lopes), who appears to have lost his entire parallel storyline to show how Dean could have ended up like his big brother with no prospects to work in his preferred profession. There is only one Black woman, Ruby (Olunike Adeliyi), who is Dean’s mom. There appear to be no other Black characters who are unrelated to Dean in either Detroit or Hamilton, which robs the movie of at least meaningfully explore the race themes that it raises. Director Hubert Davis made a documentary called “Black Ice” (2022) so anyone interested may need to take a side quest to see if the shortcomings of “Youngblood” should absolutely not rest on his shoulders.
In a vacuum, some of the quotes are quite inspirational, especially in the beginning of “Youngblood,” when Ruby delivers them to young Dean (Wagner Shell III), “How many goals do you get for fighting? There are people walking around out there carrying a lot of hurt. Don’t let someone else’s pain change who you are.” It is possible that the relationship with his mom was supposed to transition to the coach as an alternate mother and father figure, but other than a few shoulder taps and general pithy adages shouted at the entire team (“if you’re going to lose, you don’t lose to yourself”) that thread never coalesces. Instead, the coach becomes forecast as a possible image of Dean’s future if he can get his crap together before a mealy-mouthed resolution between Dean and dad that absolves the latter of any errors. It is as if the film is allergic to any meaningful, sustained tension and outcome. It is all broad brushstrokes and mostly unsatisfying ones. Dean primarily exists for the ice, and the girlfriend with some chemistry because it confirms his worthiness. Everything else feels like an afterthought.
“Youngblood” makes it clear that he is reacting to bullying, some of it racist, but no one else seems to notice it so most are afraid of him, punish him or shun him. Then writers Josh Epstein, Kyle Rideout, Seneca Aaron and Charles Officer want to have their cake and eat it too. They make racism apparent, but when other characters talk to him about the chip on his shoulder, they say things like he wants “special treatment” or act that he is “owed something for lacing up.” The subtext is very, “Yeah there is racism, but do you think that means you should expect anyone to do anything about that just for you? It is all on you.” In other words, the victim bears the burden of respectability and injury. So maybe it is a documentary?
On one hand, it is impressive that a movie can root for a Black man who wants to fight back without throwing him in jail or forever pathologizing him, but on the other hand, fighting is his only defining trait, and that is not great either, especially considering stereotypes of Black people being inherently violent. In one scene, he becomes the scary Black man to his landlord, Mrs. McGill (Tamara Podemski, who is underutilized), and clutches her daughter, Winnie (Keris Hope Hill), in fear. The next day, she makes a dig about his penchant for ending up in the penalty box then turns on a dime and is cheery. Given the context surrounding this scene, it was a weird time to pull that stunt, especially since Dean’s prior relationship with that family was only positive. They know the context of his frustration, which is valid, and have only personally known him to be a polite, respectful person who can be trusted around children. “Youngblood” mistakenly assigned too much plot on his attitude problem instead of making him a three-dimensional person.
As a sports movie, it is tepid at best. Because the other players have no identity, the plays on the ice also lack any narrative momentum other than the opposition being mean to Dean or violent to everyone. Despite all the talk about teamwork, it is not reflected in “Youngblood.” It is not an ensemble cast. It is a forgettable one, but not because of the acting. They never received material that could make them shine, and everyone cannot be Michael Fassbender and outact the writers’ deficiencies. It would have been interesting to examine the cultural divide since Dean is American, and the rest of the team is not.
There is so much good content that “Youngblood” probably is not worth watching except to satisfy your curiosity and if your tastes are easily pleased. Also, if you are a fan of the cast and are compelled to be a completist, then it may be worth losing almost two hours because no one gives a bad performance, but no one transcends the work. Otherwise, it is the most underwhelming sports movie that hits all the tropes towards victory in the most lackluster way that you will probably feel zero catharsis though the post credits scene is precisely when the movie becomes mildly interesting.
