DRAFT DAY (2014)

Genre: Sports/Drama
Director: Ivan Reitman
Cast: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Sam Elliott, Tom Welling, Frank Langella, Denis Leary, P. Diddy, Josh Pence, Terry Crews, Rosanna Arquette, Ellen Burstyn, Chadwick Boseman, Chi McBride, W. Earl Brown, Griffin Newman, Kevin Dunn, Patrick St. Esprit
RunTime: 1 hr 50 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/DraftDayMovie

Opening Day: 5 June 2014

Synopsis: On the day of the NFL Draft, general manager Sonny Weaver (Kevin Costner) has the opportunity to save football in Cleveland when he trades for the number one pick. He must quickly decide what he's willing to sacrifice in pursuit of perfection as the lines between his personal and professional life become blurred on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with dreams of playing in the NFL.

Movie Review:

This reviewer isn’t a sports fan (that may just be a lame excuse for him not to stay physically active by playing sports), and he is of the view that all sports movies have the same message to convey – sports brings people together, encourages bonding between individuals and is a fine example of the determined human spirit. Think of movies like 2005’s Coach Carter (basketball), 2009’s The Blind Side (American football) and 2012’s Trouble With The Curve (baseball), did you not walk out of the theatre with a warm fuzzy feeling? Let’s not even talk about our own One Leg Kicking (2001) and Kallang Roar: The Movie (2008).

What does this Ivan Reitman directed sports movie offer that we haven’t seen elsewhere before?

The story’s protagonist is Kevin Costner’s Sonny Weaver Jr, general manager of American football club Cleveland Browns. We follow him over the day in the hours that can decide his team's fate for the season. Known as Draft Day, this is the day for him to rebuild his team when he trades for the number one pick.

Sounds like an interesting premise? Only if you are familiar with American football, and have a fair amount of knowledge of how the sport is played. The National Football League (NFL) has this interesting tradition where the fates of the players are played out in a game show like manner. Each team gets to choose (or draft – get it?) unsigned or trade players in public for all to see. This makes for a battle of wits, conspiracies and high tension, you say? Unfortunately, this was lost on this writer (told you he isn’t the biggest sports fan).

The characters speak in football jargon, confuse each other with numbers (statistics, players’ salaries) in this off the field game, and try to throw their opponents’ off balance by shaking their confidence. Reitman (Up In The Air, No Strings Attached) assumes his viewers are fully aware of how the game is played, and concentrates on the psychological warfare between the team managers. To fill up the 110 minute runtime, he throws in the protagonist’s struggle with his unsupportive mother, a romance with his co worker and conflict with the team coach.

Costner, who impressed us with his subdued yet powerful performances in the recent Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and Man of Steel (unfortunately, the mistake that was 1995’s Waterworld won’t be forgotten anytime soon, Mr Costner), delivers another commendable performance as a man who is determined to get his point across. Let’s just say with the many things the character has to deal with in life, he has already done a decent job on the titular Draft Day. Elsewhere, there’s Ellen Burstyn (Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, The Fountain) as the overbearing mother, Jennifer Garner (The Invention of Lying, Dallas Buyers Club) as the romantic interest whom we think has zero chemistry with her leading man, Denis Leary (Ice Age, The Amazing Spider Man) as an arrogant coach and the always reliable Frank Langella (Frost/ Nixon, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) as a rival team manager.

The ensemble cast delivers noteworthy performances, but it’d take a American football fan (or someone sportier than this reviewer, at least) to be engaged by the otherwise decent movie. 

Movie Rating:

(Viewers not familiar with American football may be left out in the cold, despite the cast’s competent performances)

Review by John Li