Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

ldavis-2 The filmmakers want so badly for you to root for their hero, they saddle their little opus with enough clichés to choke a horse. The upshot is that their hero is the ultimate cliché: the arrogant, self-absorbed jerk with the $1,000,000 arm and the 10¢ head!When one buddy gets cut, another buddy gets promoted, and a third buddy's progress regulates our hero to the bullpen, how does he respond? He jumps the team. That's real mature! Even his mother's attempt to guilt-trip him back to his senses doesn't work. If Sugar doesn't care that his family is now screwed because he decided to screw up, then why should we care about him?Some reviewers have opined that the film is about how these poor non-white kids are exploited by rich white guys. But, as they say, it takes two to tango, and none of these kids have ever been forced to sign up for a shot at the big time. That Sugar and his fellow screw-ups decide to stay in the U.S. after their visas expire renders the filmmakers' self-righteous screed as pointless as their little opus.

jon_abbondanza a movie that finally shows the true underbelly of what a Hispanic player who tries to make it in the USA's baseball machine goes through.When dumped into the mid-west with little or no real guidance and adaptation instructions, performing on the field is only a small part of success...Being a former baseball player and New Yorker who has played with many of these talented and cool people, I was touched by the depiction of what they go through, and the dignity and class they have despite the rough ride they go through...If you want a real baseball story, without the bells and whistles, then this is for you.Very well written, and very believably acted.Bravo!

lastliberal If you are looking for another "sports" film, this isn't it. Sure, it's about Dominican baseball players trying to make it in the United States, and get some money for their families, just as African-Americans use the NBA to get out of the ghetto, but it is so much more.Baseball isn't the story here. It is just a backdrop. The story is immigration.It was funny watching Miguel 'Sugar' Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) put up with an Iowa farm family when he went to play "A" ball. They didn't speak Spanish, and he didn't speak English. The daughter (Ellary Porterfield) seemed interested, but couldn't take the big step.He left for New York when he felt his game go. He managed to find a new life. Not completely without baseball, but without making it to the majors. Life is like that. It's what happens when you make other plans.

intelearts Sugar is an important Hispanic film. And yes, two Americans made it, Fleck and Boden, but they do so without compromise, without an agenda, and without patronising - and what we get IS an Hispanic film - it is not a film about America, it really is a superb Hispanic (Spanish in America) perspective - and it just blew me away. 100% convincing, valid, justified - and simply a great film.The story of the baseball player Sugar, played with consummate skill by Soto, has all the elements of a good sports movie plus the added dimension of a very well thought through arc and development.This is without a doubt one of the better films of the year; it captures both baseball and the alienation of the Hispanic experience in the US with alacrity and a light touch. The characters have real depth and emphasis is placed on the internal rather than simply the external.Strongly recommended as a breakthrough film for Hispanic film in the US, both in the quality of the story and acting and for excellence in film making.