The story is unique and engaging enough to transcend the uplifting sports-underdog formula.

As the team gets in shape, a hot new ringer is brought in and the fallen son redeems himself - and director Steve Rash's movie wins us over.

Although it adheres to the tried-and-true sports-movie formula of an underdog team striving to overcome their limitations to become winners, Crooked Arrows lacks captivating emotional momentum.

The story of a ragtag Native American team rediscovering the tribal roots of the game to defeat preppie champions is rife with tired tropes, and lacking in three-dimensional characters or colorful plot-twists. Happily for this Onandaga-financed production and vet director Steve Rash, gifted Native American lacrosse players lend hard-hitting impact to the game scenes.

The result is a well-meaning checklist of a film that lacks sufficient charm or off-the-field vigor to fully score its intended goal.