The Natural (1984) - Does it hold up?

Photo by Juergen Vollmer/Popperfoto/Getty ImagesThis was my first time watching The Natural. Still, I knew exactly what I expected from it. And boy, oh boy, did the movie give me that for the first 15 minutes or so. Then, suddenly, a wild twist, and I was interested in what would come next.

If only my interest had been fulfilled.

Roy Hobbs is a “natural” at baseball. He grows up on a farm in the midwest, surrounded by fields of wheat. His father dies of a heart attack when Roy is young. Then, a lightning bolt destroys a giant tree outside his home. From its charred remains, he creates a baseball bat that he calls Wonderboy. He expresses love to his childhood girlfriend before setting off to…