It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

The acting in this movie is really good.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Pretty tiresome dreck with a super young Rob Lowe playing at the ol' Ice Hockey picture. Actually, its not a very old genre. You never saw John Wayne hockeying on ice, nor James Dean. Rob Lowe is actually pretty good, and the film is made with the absolute maximum amount of seriousness available, which seems to be a lot. Everyone seems to be into Ice Hockey, its just that also assume their audience is too. There's not a single bit of effort put into making us like or appreciate the sport. Its more played as a human drama, with the sport and its coaches providing tension for the protagonist. Its like the real bad guy is the sport itself. Its pretty funny. I know I said Rob Lowe was pretty good, but the other funny thing about this movie is when Rob Lowe is called upon to act tough. Rob Lowe can be privileged, a pretty-boy, a flirt, witty, charming, maybe creepy or dangerous... But tough? I had to laugh. There's not a tough bone in his body, yet here he is getting physical with some dudes, and the second half of the movie is mainly concerned with him winning a physical fight. I just, you know, don't get it. Also, the movie is pretty of its time, very 80's soundtrack, so if that's what you're after, help yourself.

Here comes Rob Lowe as a hockey dude. Rob is the fastest forward on a squad of hockey players who must defeat their nemesis - a 'zoo' of brawlers - in order to win the coveted trophy.... and they get 'what' out of this?.... Oh yeah, a shot at the pro's.... that's nice.Cindy Gibb is the questionable love interest (she's so freaking ugly); Jim Youngs plays Rob's cool older brother, and former real-life NHLer Eric Nesterenko appears as Rob's caring Dad. Not bad, really, especially if you're a chick who loves to glimpse Rob's cute cheeks - and not just the ones on his face.Rob's nickname here is 'Deaner' - which rhymes with 'Weiner'.

Rob Lowe is way too much the matinée idol type to ever be believable as a hockey player. In fact that's the story of Youngblood, that of a player who values his looks a lot more than mixing it up on the ice to help win a game.Try as I might I just can't see Rob Lowe as a hockey player, even one who won't get down and dirty. He's a speedy fellow on the ice and it's his speed that gets him a berth on a Canadian minor league hockey team, on which he has teammates like Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. The best scene in the film is where Rob Lowe gets literally raped by the unofficial landlady of the team, Fionula Flannagan. Apparently she gets first dibs on all the new hockey players in helping them keep their equipment in working order. Considering before Lowe, she had both Swayze and Reeves, I'd say she's quite the mechanic.Rob has a more serious involvement with Cynthia Gibb who is the daughter of Coach Ed Lauter. But she's also daddy's little girl which doesn't help matters.Our Canadian reviewers say that Youngblood is a gross distortion of Canadian hockey. I'm in no position to comment, but I've seen enough to know that it's a sport where violence is the norm and if you can't mix it up and are not willing to risk your good looks, you won't last too long.Youngblood is now 23 years old and assuming Rob Lowe's character had a decent sized playing career, I guarantee that Rob today would not look like the fellow who worked for President Martin Sheen in the West Wing.

Dean Youngblood (Rob Lowe) wants to join a Canadian ice hockey team...BUT he has to prove he can fight back when challenged on the ice. Naturally he falls in love with the coach's daughter (Cynthia Gibb). And Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze are guys on the team!Totally predictable and pretty dull in terms of story but this film has some redeeming moments. The scenes on the ice are well done and filmed--I heard they actually consulted a retired ice hockey player on how to shot them. They DO work. Also Swayze has a few good moments too. Reeves never could act and this movie doesn't change my opinion. But my reason for seeing this was Rob Lowe. He never was much of an actor but I think he was one of the best-looking men I've ever seen. He pumped up for the movie (it shows) and there's a sequence which is just in there to show Lowe in a jockstrap. Nice to see a guy being the sexual object and not the women. Gibb is cute too.But, unless you're interested in seeing Lowe practically nude or have a huge interest in ice hockey, you'll probably be bored. I give it a 6.