"I'm not the answer to your prayers. I'm not Martin Luther King ... I'm just a football coach."

1971 Virginia is in for a rude awakening, Denzel Washington takes over as the nation's first black high school head coach. Can the old coach tolerate working under him? With busing protesters tossing stones the first day of school, can the white and black players learn to play as a team instead of an angry mob? Can the town reconcile the racial tensions?

Though all of the dialogue is poignant, some of it is soaked onto the film a little thick -- the youngest cast member pushing the oversell envelope. But, schmaltz is all the fault I can find with this extremely well paced, meaty film. Like "Meet the Parents," these filmmakers had so much to put into the film, they cut anything that wasn't immediately pertinent. Washington is high powered, as is just about everyone else in this film (Harris, Hurst, Patton!). "Titans" is full of people to like ... and to learn to like.

Denzel plays the hard guy that won't patronize any part of weakness, "You fumble the football and I will break my foot off in your John Brown hind parts ... and then you'll run a mile!"

The film is a lot about character and a little about football. Not a single boring, slow, or unnecessary second. I loved it.