Youngblood 2026 Movie Review
Watching the remake of a film that I have loved since I was a kid, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I may like this version more than the original. In the 21st-century version of the sports drama, Dean Youngblood (Ashton James, 5 Days at Memorial) is a second-generation Black Canadian hockey player. His father, Blane (Blair Underwood, LA Law), and older brother paved the way, but he was cast out of the system because of his hot temper on the hockey rink. As Dean’s star rises, he is conflicted. Does he follow his father’s advice on how to succeed in Hockey, or does he conform to Coach Chadwick’s (Shawn Doyle, Big Love) more passive approach to the game?
Canadian actor/filmmaker Charles Officer conceived the idea for a remake of Youngblood, starring a Black hockey player. But when he passed away unexpectedly at 48 years old in 2023, a friend and colleague, Director Hubert Davis, stepped into the role of director to finish the movie. Throughout the film, you can feel the authentic love and care that was dedicated to Officer’s vision and this uniquely nuanced story. As Dean Youngblood, Ashton Jones’ performance is lovely. You see the anger, vulnerability, joy, inexperience, and wisdom all rolled up into this young person as he navigates his way through this world, trying to please both his father and coach, who have totally different strategies when it comes to playing Hockey. As Dean’s father, Blane, Blair Underwood serves a master class in acting in this role. He represents the stalwart Black men who were the first generation after the civil rights movement who had to find their way as the first Black people to break glass ceilings. Blane’s philosophy in Hockey was to lead with an iron fist. You see Blane teaching both of his sons to protect themselves with physical strength as their power. Blane is the younger son, close to his beloved mother Ruby (Olunide Adeliyi, Village Keeper), who is the emotional center of the film. In a family filled with men, her sons and husband adore Ruby, and it is beautiful to see a dark-skinned Black family with a stable foundation, with two loving parents. You immediately know the love story between Ruby and Blane is heartwarming in this cold Canadian climate; this family has one another.
As Dean is accepted into a top-tier hockey program, he faces a coach whose style of hockey clashes with what Blane has taught his son. Blane has told Dean that playing aggressively is how he has to survive with respect in this game. For reasons that we learn later in the film, the coach distains this kind of play, and when Dean brings it to the team, the conflict is apparent. Youngblood is an excellent sports film because it has all of the things we love about sports movies. The obstacle for a team that initially struggles to work together is facing a big challenge that reveals what they are made of and who they are in the world. But Youngblood goes further by with nuance and compassion, examining how Black male athletes in predominantly white sports deal with masculinity. I loved that you have a Black father teaching his son to fight and use his power on the hockey rink to take respect when those white boys mess with him as subtext.
The contrast in how refs make their calls and the subtle tactics white folks use to assert dominance in these situations is apparent. The script is great. I could have done without the love interest aspect of this story but it sticks to the original film. Where Rob Lowe as Youngblood was all about him being a pretty boy who had the skills but needed toughening up to play for the Mustangs, Ashton Jones’ Youngblood as a young Black man with the agility, speed, and aggression, wrestling with the direction to be less aggressive by his coach and more aggressive by his father. The result is a mix of juicy conflicts and unintended consequences that make you lean into this film. Plus, the hockey sequences make even people like me, who know nothing about Hockey, root for our heroes on screen and invest in what happens to them.I love a good sports film, and Youngblood gives us a story that is compelling, makes you think, and warms your heart without being mushy or superficial.
