Draft Day

Starring: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Frank Langella, Chi McBride, Chadwick Boseman, Terry Crews, Arian Foster, Sean Combs, Josh Pence, Ellen Burstyn, Tom Welling, Sam Elliott, Kevin Dunn, Rosanna Arquette
Directed by: Ivan Reitman
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Sport
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Cleveland Browns GM Sonny Weaver (Kevin Costner) feels the pressures mounting as he prepares for an unforgettable NFL Draft.

Review:

Tim: If you tell me Kevin Costner is making a sports movie, I am going to be there. The guy has been too consistently good over too many years for me to ignore that. For Love of the Game, Bull Durham, and Field of Dreams are all great movies. Tin Cup is a very solid, entertaining movie. With that kind of pedigree, I was looking forward to Draft Day. The movie doesn't quite reach the heights of those other films, but this is still a good movie.

The idea behind the film is a strong one- let's take a look at an NFL franchise on Draft Day. The wheeling and dealing, the behind-the-scenes drama, the excitement, the letdowns. It's a very dramatic day and it's ripe for a Hollywood treatment. It also helps personally that the Cleveland Browns were the featured team in the film. I'm officially a Miami Dolphins fan, but growing up an hour from Cleveland, I rooted for the Browns for much of my early life. I still hold a dear place for the franchise in my heart, so it was fun seeing them depicted on the big screen.

Kevin Costner was a great choice for the lead role. I've always liked Costner, even when he caught hell for some of his less effective movies. He's a good actor and is in fine form here. There's something that is just so relatable about him. You just connect with him as an actor. The supporting cast is pretty impressive, although a number have smaller roles. Frank Langella was fun as the crotchety owner. Denis Leary did a better job than I expected as the Head Coach. He didn't have anything glamorous to do, but his performance convinced me. Chadwick Boseman turned in another good performance. I will say that I was horribly disappointed in Jennifer Garner. She's just an all-around terrible actress and her complete lack of talent was on display here. I just didn't believe anything she said. Her wooden acting was so bad. There's a ton of other recognizable actors in the cast. As a whole, it's quite impressive.

The movie does offer a number of the expected deals and behind-the-scenes looks, similar to what Moneyball did for the MLB. I admit I got caught up in wondering how it would all turn out. However, I felt a little disappointed in the eventual conclusion. Yes, it's impressive, but it was a little anticlimatic. I just expected more of a "wow" factor. That was a bit of a letdown at the end of the film. It prevents this film from approaching greatness. Even with those flaws (and the pushing-the-boundaries-of-reality story), this movie is still a fun, entertaining movie. In the end, Draft Day doesn't do enough to be considered in the same pantheon of Costner's classic sports film, it still delivers and is worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Field of Dreams, Moneyball, Bull Durham, For Love of the Game, Tin Cup