Apologies in advance for discussing one of my least favorite Redford roles in which should be a celebration of such a Hollywood legend.
Additionally, I edited my previous post regarding what I thought was miscasting Redford which is a significant part of why I do not view the film favorably.
While I am definitely in the minority, I do not think it's a small island. Regardless, I will have the company of Roger Ebert who ripped it.
Why didn't they make a baseball picture? Why did "The Natural" have to be turned into idolatry on behalf of Robert Redford? Why did a perfectly good story,
www.rogerebert.com
His closing critique:
As for the baseball, the movie isn’t even subtle. When a team is losing, it makes Little League errors. When it’s winning, the hits are so accurate they even smash the bad guy’s windows. There’s not a second of real baseball strategy in the whole film. The message is: Baseball is purely and simply a matter of divine intervention. At about the 130-minute mark, I got the idea that God’s only begotten son was playing right field for the New York team.
Gene Siskel was on your side though. He gave it Thumbs Up.