Summit Entertainment, OddLot Entertainment, The Montecito Picture Company,
Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Frank Langella, Sam Elliott, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Terry Crews, Ellen Burstyn, Chadwick Boseman
Sonny Weaver, Jr (Kevin Costner) is now General Manager of The Cleveland Browns football team. He took over for his father who recently passed away and he has big shoes to fill. It’s the NFL Draft Day, and Sonny trades up to the Number One pick in order to get the hottest Quarterback on the market, but the cost is very high, and everyone else, from his girlfriend and fellow front office member Ali (Jennifer Garner) and his Mother, (Ellen Burstyn), as well as the whole front office think he’s blown it big time. But Sonny has to figure it out and see if he has what it takes to take over for his Father, whom everybody loved.
The high stakes poker style negotiating of the NFL Draft (and the NBA draft for that matter) is a roller-coaster ride of it’s own, but that’s even just as a spectator. Here we get to go into the back rooms and see how the wheeling and dealing goes on under extreme pressure for everyone involved. A simple mistake in negotiation could mean plus or minus millions of dollars as the season plays out. This film really takes you into the action, and it’s a very good movie. I found myself enjoying it a lot, even though I’m not the hugest NFL fan. I watch my Steelers when I can, but drafting a fantasy team, or following the draft on TV is not something I’ve really invested myself in. But I have to admit I was thoroughly entertained, and I think even a non-football fan could enjoy this film as well since there is so much other stuff going on. Though it reminded me of Moneyball a little bit, as the subject is similar, trying to find the right players at the right cost to make your team, I think it was even more enjoyable to me than Moneyball was. Kevin Costner was very good, and he carried the film really well. There’s such a feeling of realism, that you would swear that its’ a true story, and there are many real people who play themselves, even though this is a fictitious story, there is some similarity to a real event. There’s drama, suspense, humor, and good old fashioned drama going on here, and the movie never lets up. Very well presented, everyone deserves kudos from the script to the photography, to the casting and acting in this sports film. I really enjoyed this movie, and I would definitely recommend it, especially to anyone who is a football fan!
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
