With spring quickly approaching, it's time to think baseball, and Hollywood's newest baseball offering "Mr. 3000" would be the movie version of a spring training game, nice to watch since we have missed the game for six months, but in the end it's not worth anything. "Mr. 3000" is a nice movie but offers no substance in story or character development, and only if you are a baseball fan will you enjoy this movie.

"Mr. 3000" stars Bernie Mac (Ocean's 12) as baseball player Stan Ross who retires right after his 3000 hit while his team is in a pennant chase. He is arrogant and selfish, reminding all baseball fans of Barry Bonds. His only concern is to get into the Hall of Fame, which is why he wanted 3000 hits, which virtually guarantee's a player entrance into it. However, the year where he is finally going to be voted in, baseball officials discover he is three hits short of 3000. This causes Ross to lose lots of votes and does not make into the Hall of Fame. Ross then decides to go back and play one last time and try and get his 3000 hits.

The story is fairly simple and is not that exciting. Every time there is a conflict, the writer quickly solves the problem in the very next scene. Although the main issue is not solved until the end, which isn't whether or not he gets 3000 hits, but whether or not Ross becomes a selfish player or a team player. The suspense is never built to a level which is significant enough to suck the viewer in. It's nice, but not compelling. I will say, it is not a bad job for Eric Champnella and look forward to his next project. The director Charles Stone III has made a giant leap forward since his last notable project, "Drumline."

The acting is not too bad, with tons of real life sports people making cameos. Bernie Mac is great as Ross, and I imagine all he did was watch Barry Bonds for a few minutes and had his character down pat. Angela Basset (Sunshine State) stars as Mo, a reporter for ESPN, who is also the love interest. I must say, for a women in her mid-forties, she is incredibly will built and of course attractive. However, she plays the typical love interest and did not have to stretch her acting talents. There are no other actors who stand out, and the cast is mostly played by youngsters.

If you miss baseball, watch the movie. If you like baseball movies, rent it. However, don't go in expecting a whole lot, because their just isn't much there.

Brian - the Naked Gun