4K Ultra HD Review: RUNNING THE BASES

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Mar 06, 2023 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Teenager Luke Brooks (Raphael Ruggero) plans to make a career out of his love of playing baseball, but this suddenly comes to a screeching halt when he learns that he has a heart defect and must give up the game immediately. Luke always believed that God’s plan for him and his twin brother was to play ball, but now he doesn’t know what to do with his future. That is, until he goes away to college and discovers his knack for coaching, which gives him a whole new way to love the game.

Twenty years later, Luke (Brett Varvel) is still living in his hometown of Harrison, Arkansas, where he’s married to his childhood best friend Jess (Gigi Orsillo), and coaching the high school baseball team, which includes his son Josh (Bridger Trent). His life is going great, his team has won 9 championships, and there’s nothing else he could really want. However, he receives a visit from Michael Jamison (Todd Terry), the superintendent of the Parkwood School District in Texas, who’s looking for a new coach to turn his school’s baseball team around. While Jess and Josh are hesitant to leave the only town they’ve ever known, Luke feels that God has been trying to get his attention, and this is what he needs to do. So they pick up roots and head to Texas, where Luke discovers he has a challenge ahead of him…a team that hasn’t won a single game, and a school administrator who is eager for them to win the championship.

Luke has a routine of running the bases before each practice or game, as a way of honoring God and a family member he has lost. He also has another unusual approach to his coaching—he teaches them basic baseball skills, but instead of focusing on winning, Luke wants to make sure that the team has a solid moral core and values, and comes together like a family. As long as the team is solid in spirit, the winning will come. And with his methods, it’s not long before the team starts getting results. While the football coach sees Luke as a threat to his funding, everyone else is pleased with the team’s performance and comradery. One of the teens who has really turned things around is constant jokester and goofball Ryan (Justin Sterner, Lifemark), who happens to be Michael’s son. Ryan lost his mother when he was younger—she had been a Christian, and his father blamed God for his wife’s death, so they were never really religious. Ryan has been inspired by the Brooks’ faith and has started to form his own relationship with God. However, when Ryan’s father discovers that Luke has “corrupted” his son with his religious views, he’s livid, and threatens Luke with a city ordinance outlawing religious displays on town property. He demands that Luke stop running the bases or else. And so Luke’s faith and determination is put to the test.

Running the Bases is a pretty standard inspirational faith-based drama that isn’t shy about exploring the faith and religious beliefs of the main characters. Luke isn’t a preacher, but he is strong in his faith, and people often turn to him for advice and inspiration as though he is one. God and family play a major part in the Brooks’ lives and identities, and they can’t deny that. When Jess and Josh are hesitant about the idea of moving, all it takes is for Luke to mention that it’s a calling from God, and they immediately do an about face and are fully supportive and on-board. Also, while winning would be great, that’s not what’s important to Luke—he would rather focuses on creating a team full of proper young men. Luke’s faith has become an integral part of himself, so when he is told he must deny this by stopping his running of the bases, it is a challenge to his very core. It would be like denying and defying God’s will to do so.

At times the film can be a little over melodramatic, such as when young Luke yells up to the sky, giving his passionate and tearful “why hast thou forsaken me?”-like speech to God, or when his mother emotionally pleads with him not to give up. Some of the dramatic conflicts feel a little forced, such as how his running the bases could even legally be considered a public religious act, when the no one watching Luke do this would even know that was the purpose. However, I still found the film to be entertaining and inspirational overall, with at least one unexpected dramatic turn, and a big emotional reveal at the end. The movie also weaves in a lot of humor, whether it’s Luke making bad puns to the school administration, the God-like groundskeeper Sam (Cameron Arnett) who seems to pop up everywhere and always has some smart or wise thing to say, or goofball Ryan who’s usually trying to make his teammates (and the audience) laugh.

Running the Bases may be Mill Creek’s first scripted 4K release—they had only previously released 3 IMAX documentaries on 4K disc. The video presentation is excellent, with a clean, crisp picture that looks pristine and flawless throughout. There is an excellent level of detail in faces and in the textures of the clothing and uniforms. I couldn’t find any indication that the disc was HDR-encoded, but the color palette still looks vivid and beautiful, especially in the opening sequences with young Luke and his brother playing baseball. While the packaging lists the audio track as being DTS:X, the disc only played back in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 in my setup. To ensure this wasn’t an issue with my equipment, I verified that the E.T. UHD disc did in fact play back in DTS:X as labeled. That said, the track still sounds great. Dialogue is clear throughout, and the inspirational music soundtrack fills the room. Speaking of the soundtrack, the filmmakers have done an excellent job of picking songs with lyrics that directly tie into and inform what’s going on in the movie. The audio track also provides a solid immersive ambiance, whether it’s the sounds of the outdoors, crowd or fielders at the baseball field, or the general noise and chaos in the jail scenes.

The 4K disc comes packed in a standard black 4K keepcase, placed inside a carboard slipcover. There is no digital copy included. The disc includes optional English subtitles, the film’s trailer, and 5 short deleted scenes totaling about 8 minutes.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:07:41)

2160p / Widescreen 1.78:1
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

Deleted Scenes
Collection of 5 deleted scenes. Select from:
- Don’t Let Him (1:15)
  A young Jess has a tearful conversation with Mrs. Brooks.
- Love Jess (1:30)
  Jess narrates a letter she’s writing to Luke at college.
- The Scheme (2:41)
  Jay and Michael discuss their plans to get a new coach to win the championships so they can build a new stadium that would be financially beneficial to both of them.
- That Crunching Sound (:52)
  The coaches hear odd noises coming from Rick’s microphone.
- Michael’s Rage (1:30)
  After Ryan confronts his father about his mother’s faith, Michael has a meltdown.
Trailer (1:00)

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

Running the Bases is a pretty solid and entertaining film that has some surprising drama, mixed with lots of inspirational moments and laughs. It is very faith-forward and while not preachy it may not be a film for those who are turned off by those kinds of things. This is a film that the whole family can enjoy together, though there are a couple scenes/topics that may be harder for younger viewers. As Mill Creek’s first 4K film release, I thought the picture quality was excellent (even though it appears to have no HDR), and the audio track was great, despite not playing back in DTS:X as labeled. The disc is somewhat barebones, with just 8 minutes of deleted scenes, but that’s a lot more than most Mill Creek releases get. The film comes recommended, especially for those who enjoy more faith-based fare.