The less successful brother of Moneyball

DIRECTED BY: Ivan Reitman
WRITTEN BY: Scott Rothman & Rajiv Joseph
STARRING: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Chadwick Boseman, Denis Leary,David Ramsey, Josh Pence, Terry Crews & Frank Langella

SYNOPSIS: At the NFL Draft, general manager Sonny Weaver Jr (Kevin Costner) is given the opportunity to make a splash by trading for the number one pick. In the hours leading up to the Draft, Sonny must decide what path to take affecting the lives of his owner, his coaches, his players and the few hundred young men with NFL dreams.

FULL REVIEW: CONTAINS SPOILERS

Bits I Loved

  • The soundtrack was fitting, set the tone for a feel-good frantically-paced sports film.
  • The performance of Kevin Costner was gripping, made the audience want to watch what he would do regardless of how predictable his actions were. No wonder he keeps making sports films because he is good at them.
  • The visual effects, specifically the editing techniques, were unique and added a different flavour to the film. It felt like it enhanced the sports business tone.
  • The themes beyond that of typical sports films helped garner interest from a general audience. Gave more dynamism to the story through every day relatable themes.

Bits I Hated

  • Niche film that caters to a very specific group. Would not be entertaining to a general audience.
  • The characters were incredibly one-dimensional and archetypical as they only added to the script as a plot device for Sonny Weaver.
  • The premise and story are rather unrealistic and predictable. The story only stays interesting through its themes and the presence of Kevin Costner.
  • The film seemed a bit stretched out for the content. Reducing the length could have helped increase the strength of the tension building.

Review

Draft Day is a suspenseful sports drama without the sports, relying on the business and management side of sports teams. The film uses unique editing techniques to help build tension for a topic that only appeals to a very niche audience. Although the script employs additional themes outside the realm of sports, the story never brings itself to the level needed to have these themes stand on their own. The characters are more plot devices than actual breathing people in a film that goes well beyond its needed run time.

The highlight of the film is Kevin Costner, who always seems to shine in his many sports films. This film hopes to leach off the success of the statistic-heavy and critically-acclaimed sports drama Moneyball, but becomes lost with the lack of a believable storyline, strong themes and an inviting hook for a general audience. Draft Day scrambles for the ball, never truly finding control and instead of scoring a touchdown it gets sidelined for the season.

Oscar Nominations?

  • Best Editing (doubtful)
  • Best Score (doubtful)

Verdict

1 = Fair 2 = Good 3 = Very Good 4 = Excellent

★★☆☆ – Premise

★★☆☆ – Story

★☆☆☆ – Characters

★★★☆ – Visual Effects

★★☆☆ – Dialogue

★★★☆ – Visuals

★★★☆ – Soundtrack

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆  6/10 – Consider

What did you think of Draft Day? Let me know in the comments!

 

Published by Dylan Phillips

is a film fanatic and TV junkie from the mysterious land of Canada. He is an aspiring writer/director who hopes to make his mark on the industry one way or another, whether it be behind a camera or with a pen. When he isn’t watching hours upon hours of movies or writing scripts, Dylan can be found playing his guitar, avidly watching baseball or making YouTube videos for his channel The Film Fanatic.

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