Draft Day (2014) Online

2014 Kevin Costner Chadwick Boseman Jennifer Garner Ivan Reitman

Original Title :: Draft Day
Genre :: Movie / Drama / Sport
Year :: 2014
Directror :: Ivan Reitman
Cast :: Kevin Costner,Chadwick Boseman,Jennifer Garner
Writer :: Scott Rothman,Rajiv Joseph
Budget :: $25,000,000
Type :: Movie
Time :: 1h 50min
Rating :: 6.8/10

At the NFL Draft, General Manager Sonny Weaver has the opportunity to rebuild his team when he trades for the number one pick. He must decide what he's willing to sacrifice on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with NFL dreams.

Draft Day (2014) Online

It's draft day in the NFL, and as General Manager of the Cleveland Browns, Sonny is forced to come up with a big move. After trading for the number one pick, Sonny has to choose between a lower-ranked linebacker with a questionable past, or a celebrated quarterback with a questionable future. All the while, Sonny is walking in the footsteps of his father, and personal complications force their way to the surface.

Cast overview, first billed only:
	Chris Berman	-	Chris Berman
	Dave Donaldson	-	Danny
	Patrick St. Esprit	-	Tom Michaels
	Chi McBride	-	Walt Gordon
	Mel Kiper	-	Mel Kiper
	Jon Gruden	-	Jon Gruden
	Kevin Costner	-	Sonny Weaver Jr.
	Deion Sanders	-	Deion Sanders
	Mike Mayock	-	Mike Mayock
	Jennifer Garner	-	Ali
	Anthony Rizzo	-	Anthony Rizzo
	Aaron Goldhammer	-	Aaron Goldhammer
	Chadwick Boseman	-	Vontae Mack
	Jordan Harris	-	Vontae's Nephew
	Zachary Littlejohn	-	Vontae's Nephew (as Zachary Littleton)

The trick used by the Washington Redskins of taping a $100 bill to the back of the playbook seemed to be inspired by an anecdote of JaMarcus Russell. His coaches in Oakland did not believe he was watching the game film and once purposely sent him home with blank DVDs to watch. He returned claiming he watched the video and liked the game plan, obviously lying. There was a similar story in the 1980s with Randall Cunningham.

The movie originally centered around the Buffalo Bills instead of the Cleveland Browns, but the studio changed it to the Browns because the production costs in Ohio were cheaper.

The team Sonny trades for the top pick was originally supposed to be the New York Jets, but they dropped out of the movie at the last minute.

The film was initially rated R by the MPAA, but Lionsgate appealed the rating and got a PG-13 rating without cuts.

The trade Cleveland made in the movie is similar to the real-life trade made in the 2012 NFL Draft, where the Washington Redskins traded their 2012 number six overall pick, 2012 second round selection, 2013 first round selection, and 2014 first round selection for the 2012 number two overall pick to the St. Louis Rams, in order to select Robert Griffin III.

The actual 2014 NFL draft had a lot of similarities to the plot of the movie. The actual draft had a Heisman trophy winning quarterback falling in the draft, the Cleveland Browns making a pick that was questioned heavily, and the Browns making multiple trades. Jon Gruden even stated, "this is better than Draft Day!" on air during the actual draft.

The ESPN commentators correctly note that in two recent instances, 2003 and 2011, the Vikings and Ravens failed to make their first round selections in time and lost the picks. What is not said, and not shown, is that both teams that are parties to the trade must call in the trade. The Ravens lost their pick in 2011 because Chicago failed to call the trade in. In 2003, when the Vikings missed their pick, the Vikings were free to call in their pick at any time, but the teams following immediately rushed to call their picks in, rather than taking their full allotment of time on the clock, forcing Minnesota to pick further down.

The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2012 Blacklist; a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year.

In the photo of Sonny Weaver, Jr. and Sr., the actor who play Sonny Weaver, Sr. was David Gragg, who is four years older than Kevin Costner, Sonny Weaver, Jr.

In the final scene, a football player's uniform is seen with the name "MEDJUCK" on it. Joe Medjuck is a long-time producing partner of Director Ivan Reitman.

Earl Jennings (Terry Crews) was a running back with the Cleveland Browns. However, while Crews played with four teams, he never played for the Browns, and he was a defensive lineman, rather than a running back.

Arian Foster (Ray Jennings) in the movie is an All-Pro running back in real life. He played college football at Tennessee and, ironically, was not drafted.

Chadwick Boseman agreed to take the role as Vontae Mack after a Skype call he had with director Ivan Reitman. Boseman first wasn't sure if he wanted to play another athlete, or do another sports movie right after 42 (2013), where he played Jackie Robinson.

Tom, the Seahawks' general manager in the movie, has a picture of the Legion of Boom, the name of the Seahawks' secondary in real life, in his office. In the movie, the Seahawks traded away the number one pick, which would mean they had the worst record in the NFL. In real life, the Seahawks have never had a losing record with the Legion of Boom.

Sonny says several times he gave up his first round pick for the next three years to move up to the number one spot, but in reality, this isn't true, he is still picking in the first round of the current draft, and only gives up his picks in the first round in the next two drafts, so he is only giving up his first round picks in the next two years.

Kevin Costner who portrayed Jonathan Kent (Superman/Clark Kent's Earthly father) in Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) starred in this film alongside Tom Welling, famous for his role of Clark Kent in Smallville (2001), and also starred alongside Frank Langella, who played Perry White in Superman Returns (2006).

The Seattle Seahawks' current starting quarterback, Russell Wilson, attended the University of Wisconsin.

Sonny's license plate is of the "sunburst" style issued by Ohio from 2005 through 2010. All other Ohio license plates shown are of the "beautiful Ohio" design issued from 2010 through 2012. Both were valid in Ohio and widely used at the time the movie is set.

In Rescue Me (2004) season four, episode eleven, "Cycle", Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) debates with cast "What's the best Kevin Costner movie not including Field Of Dreams?"

Kevin Dunn and Frank Langella appeared in Dave (1993).

Alongside other actors who've portrayed superheroes, Tom Welling also appeared in this movie, and is well known for playing Clark Kent in Smallville (2001).

Featured Kevin Costner, who portrayed Jonathan Kent in Man Of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and Tom Welling who portrayed Clark Kent in Smalliville (2001). The film also stars other actors that have portrayed characters in other comic book movies and/or animated movies.

Characters talk about the live theater play Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Denis Leary (Coach Penn) played Captain George Stacey in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014).

This movie contains several actors and actresses who played characters in comic book based super hero television shows and movies: Kevin Costner: Jonathan Kent, Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016); Jennifer Garner: Elektra, Daredevil (2003) and Elektra (2005); Tom Welling: Clark Kent, Smallville (2001); Frank Langella: Perry White, Superman Returns (2006); Chadwick Boseman: T'Challa/Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War (2016), Black Panther (2018), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018); Denis Leary: Captain Stacy, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014); David Ramsey: John Diggle, Arrow (2012) and The Flash (2014); Josh Pence: Young Ra's Al Ghul, The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

In a scene where Vontae is talking on the phone with Sonny, he passes The Bertram Hotel and Conference Center. Vontae claims he is near his home, which is not in Ohio. In reality, he is in Aurora, Ohio, thirty-one miles (fifty kilometers) from Cleveland.

Sonny trades three first-round draft picks (which includes that year's #7 overall pick) for the #1 pick of the draft. Sonny then trades three second-round picks for the #6 pick of the draft. Then he swaps #6 for his original #7, the future first-round picks he traded away, plus a special teams player. With the picks, he gets the LB he originally wanted at #1 and a RB at #7; essentially trading three second-round picks for the number one overall pick in the draft and a special teams kick returner.

Life imitates art. Here are some mirrors with the 2018 real life Browns and 2014 movie Browns. Each team eventually passed on a high caliber player with character issues who wore number 12, Josh Gordon and Bo Callahan. The offensive players drafted by the Browns wore number 6, Baker Mayfield and Ray Jennings. The Browns defensive picks in the first round both went to Ohio State, Denzel Ward and Vontae Davis. Both drafts had the Browns picking 1, a Heisman trophy winning QB, and a CB being drafted 4th.

User reviews

Modred

Give Kevin Costner a good human-interest role and he can bring his unique star power making it both entertaining and compelling. As an adult I've grown less enamored with pro football and in fairness I'm from Alabama where college football is all it can be and pro isn't a factor. That said, it's the corporate money machine mentality that, in my humble opinion, soils the things I fondly remember of the ancient NFC/AFC of the sixties (where loyalty trumped money often for an entire career).

Well, this movie makes that big-business drama work as something much more human. Where the general managers struggle like desperate children for some kind of immediate better future. When even in the last hours those gilded picks are subject to human-error and wild scrambling per last minute decisions and deals. The kind of deals that come not just from statistics, but deeper beliefs. I'd say Draft Day brings this kind of tense drama to the screen with aplomb Is it a true representation? I'd say it doesn't matter because this is a movie and it's a good one.

Ynneig

Sports films typically have a love/hate relationship with viewers - most never finding that honest middle ground that satisfies everyone's wants and desires. On one hand, you have the preposterous comedies that cap seriousness, sacrificing dramatic acting in exchange for a series of cheap laughs and feel-good moments, like Rookie of the Year, The Waterboy, and Caddyshack. Then, there's the beloved and devote dramas that live on in film infamy, which includes but is not limited to Rocky, The Natural, and Raging Bull. Finally, you have Kevin Costner's greatest hits, like Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and For the Love of the Game. And, even though Kevin Costner has left the baseball diamond and thrown his last fastball, he clearly has found a memorable position as the GM of an NFL franchise in Draft Day.

The only real complaint about this film is that it doesn't incorporate actual NFL players - at least not in the manner that Moneyball involved them. Players like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are still stars in the Draft Day universe, however, the Cleveland Browns are a team compiled of fictional players - which probably isn't the worst thing since the Browns severely lack star-power now that the former face of their franchise, Trent Richardson, is no longer on the team. However, this is a miniscule problem in the long run, and the plot progression of the fictional players is allotted the proper time to plant their seeds of worth.

Overall, Draft Day takes full advantage of telling an engaging behind-the-scenes tale using the world's most popular league as a vehicle. From the film's trailers, the film might appear to be one giant commercial for the NFL, but thankfully it turns out to be a well-scripted, charming experience. Draft Day is a fun-loving popcorn flick through and through, but it's also exactly the kind of perfectly balanced story that draws people to the movies, incorporating just enough drama, subtly placing humor in stressful situations, and fulfilling its promise to reveal a compelling mystery that will keep everyone on their toes. For anyone that loves football or is interested in the power-play politics that that place behind the proverbial curtain, you'll have an absolute amazing time watching this feature.

Silverbrew

Surprisingly good football movie about Cleveland Browns general manager Kevin Costner on the day of the NFL draft. I say surprisingly because I wasn't expecting much. These sports dramas, particularly the football ones, often bore me. This one started off kind of like that and I was worried at first. But it picked up and I was soon wrapped up in the story. That's in large part due to the fine cast, especially Kevin Costner. You might ask why I watched this if I typically don't like sports dramas. Well the short answer is because Tom Welling from Smallville is in it. My friend was going to watch it for him so I thought "might as well." Turns out his role is pretty small. Anyway, it's a good movie. If you're not into football and you think that might keep you from enjoying this, don't worry. You don't really have to be a football fan to follow along with the plot. It's more about the behind-the-scenes business of football than the game itself.

Ballagar

"No one can stop a ticking clock, the great ones always find a way to slow it down." Sonny Weaver Jr. (Costner) is the GM of the Cleveland Browns and is getting ready for today's NFL draft. He isn't in good graces with the Brown's fans but that all changes when he makes a trade for the #1 pick. With pressure from the owner, his new head coach and his mother, Sonny isn't sure if what he wants is the same as what everyone else wants. His choices not only affect his job but everyone around him as well. I am a sucker for sports movies and I really like Kevin Costner so I was really looking forward to seeing this. Almost right away I was sucked in and enjoyed myself the entire time. This is very much like Moneyball so if you liked that movie you will like this as well. Costner is a perfect choice and there is just something about him and sports movies that is perfect. The movie is about the decisions people make when adding a player to their team, it may not seem like it but its exciting and keeps you guessing and wondering the entire time. You really root for Costner the entire time and want him to succeed. Again, it may be because I am a huge sports fan but I loved this movie and I highly recommend this. Overall, if you liked Moneyball you will love this one. I give this an A.

Renthadral

I really enjoyed Draft Day. Yes I am female and yes I love sports especially football but this is a movie anyone can enjoy. It made me think of the movie Moneyball starring Brad Pitt. A very interesting look at the madness, pressure and inner turmoil that one man has to endure in performing his duty of putting a team together. Kevin Costner gives an outstanding performance as Sonny, Jennifer Garner gives a top performance as well. This movie keeps you engaged the whole time, not for a moment did I feel it dragged or got boring. Some of the backdrop scenes of various cities and stadiums just takes your breath away, very much suited for the big screen, a must see in the theater.

Froststalker

Kevin Costner is no stranger to sports themed movies. The Tin Cup, Bull Durham, For the Love of the Game star has stared in five separate sports films and now rounds that number to an even six with the football themed Draft Day directed by Ghostbuster's helmer Ivan Reitman.

Taking on a role more his age (Costner is a football yard short of 60), Costner plays Sonny Weaver Jr., the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns in the NFL. The action picks on NFL Draft Day, the day in which 200+ young budding stars get drafted by big league teams in a huge televised event taking place in New York City.

Sonny's Cleveland team was a lowly 6-10 the season before – largely due to the injury to their star quarterback. The Browns are given the 7th round draft pick on draft day, but pressures from Brown's team owner (Frank Langella) and an aggressive offer from the Seattle Seahawks to swap the number 1 pick for future options leave Sonny with only hours to think of both his legacy and what is best for the city's revered team.

The film all takes place within the 24 hours on draft day and a running clock that appears a handful of times during the film reminds us that the time is ticking and decisions need to be made. Impeding such forward thinking are the films distractions which come in the form of two female characters with ties to Sonny. Jennifer Garner plays Ali, the love interest of Sonny and the lawyer and number cruncher who is responsible for keeping the Browns under the NFL salary cap. With the film only a few minutes aged, we learn that Ali is pregnant with Sonny's baby – a subplot that was hardly necessary to keep things moving. Also complicating things is Sonny's mother played by Ellen Burstyn. Sonny's father was a former Cleveland Brown's coach (fired by Sonny Jr. the year previous) and has recently passed away. Sonny's mother for reasons that were hard to understand considering she lived a life with football at the core of the family, decides that draft day is the day in which she wants Sonny to spend some time completing his father's last wishes as identified in his will.

Both female stories go nowhere and could easily have ended up on the cutting room floor. Instead, in a weak attempt to connect with a female audience, the two characters are awarded ample screen time to emote and distract Sonny on what is arguably the most difficult and focused day of his career.

When Sonny is not tripping over the estrogen pitfalls, he is struggling with his coach (Dennis Leary) and working the phones discussing trade possibilities with Jacksonville, Buffalo and Kansas City in an attempt to save the city the embarrassment of selling the golden goose for a few magic beans.

It is when Sonny is working his draft magic that the movie is at its best. His calls to and from potential and existing players had an authentic feel and the chaos of draft day is captured with tense complexity and legacy importance.

Draft Day wants to be football's answer to baseball's Moneyball. But the Aaron Sorkin written baseball film starring Brad Pitt had rocket-fire dialogue that catapulted the film to an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay. Draft Day instead is fluff, but it's good fluff. Costner consistently makes every film to which he is involved better than it should be and Reitman is smart to give appropriate cameos (Roger Goodall, Bernie Kozar, Jim Brown), he keeps the spotlight on his star heaving the film on Costner's shoulders in an attempt to score a box office touchdown.

Draft Day was a fun distraction. Browns fans will likely enjoy a fantasy film of their team making right decisions (the Browns have not made the NFL playoffs since 2002), and football fans should find valued entertainment in the behind the scenes peak into the day of a General Manager. But film fans hoping for a Moneyball or something smarter than Draft Day's trailers have revealed should look elsewhere.

Mohn

Hollywood's Mr. Baseball, aka Kevin Costner, walks off the diamond and onto the gridiron (or, more accurately, into pro football's corporate offices) in "Draft Day," Ivan Reitman's entertaining tribute to the wheeling-and-dealing that goes on behind the scenes at the NFL draft.

Costner plays the fictional Sonny Wheeler, Jr., son of the equally fictitious Sonny Wheeler, Sr., who has recently died and in whose shadow Sonny perpetually toils. You see, Wheeler, Sr. was a legend at the Cleveland Browns franchise, and, in his two years as general manager for the team, his son seems to be having a little trouble living up to the old man's reputation. To further complicate Sonny's life, his "down low" girlfriend, Ali (Jennifer Garner), who works as the lawyer responsible for making sure the team doesn't bust through the salary cap, has just announced that she is pregnant with the commitment-phobic Sonny's child. Amid all this personal turmoil, Sonny launches into full negotiator mode, making deals and forming alliances with other general managers in the league while working to assuage the concerns of the team's owner (Frank Langella), its coach (Dennis Leary), an assortment of high strung and disgruntled players (Tom Welling, Chadwick Boseman, Arian Foster) and even his own mother (Ellen Burstyn) who has views of her own that need to be taken into consideration before he can arrive at his final decision.

Although it probably helps to have some familiarity with how the draft pick works in order to fully appreciate some of the finer points of the narrative, writers Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman do a good job clarifying the big picture even for the less sports-oriented members of the audience. The movie proceeds at a breakneck pace as the clock ticks down to the moment of truth for Sonny. Will he accept the Seattle Seahawks' offer of the #1 draft pick, Bo Callahan (Josh Pence), in exchange for the Browns' #1 first-round draft picks for the next three years, or will he reject the offer in favor of some less stellar but still promising players? "Draft Day" is at its best when it's exploring the various and often contradictory interests - of players, coaches and owners, not to mention the millions at stake in salaries and corporate sponsorships - that those in Sonny's position must consider before rendering their final verdicts. Talk about pressure! The filmmakers establish a nice balance between the sports aspects of the tale and the personal moments between Sonny and Ali and Sonny and his mom, never allowing the latter to detract from the former. As a result, we care about the characters without losing our focus on the real reason we've come to this movie.

Reitman has come up with an interesting split-screen technique that helps to weave together a story that takes place over a wide range of geographical locales simultaneously. What might have been a mere gimmick in less capable hands becomes an indispensable narrative device here.

A few weeks back, while writing about "3 Days to Kill," I lamented that Costner desperately needed to find some quality material worthy of his talents to work with, and he seems to have found just that in "Draft Day." Costner has a core of quiet stillness that lends a genuine gravitas to his performances. Because he can appear both confident and insecure in the same moment, he makes us want to root for the character he's playing. He's also blessed with a super supporting cast that includes, in addition to all the aforementioned, Terry Crews, Rosanna Arquette, Sam Elliot, and Sean Combs.

"Draft Day" proves that not all the competitiveness and excitement of professional football takes place on the field.

Malanim

With the NFL Draft season officially in full swing, if you haven't already, now's a great time to see "Draft Day" the movie! Even if it does stand to reason, foretelling whether or not it would be received more positively by non-football enthusiasts and resonate less with true football fans (as some critics have deduced), is nonetheless a rush to judgment.

In any case, the box office draw doesn't differentiate one over the other. The entertaining sports vehicle about the NFL draft not actual gridiron game play goes against formula.

We've seen football films that keep to standard rough and tumble field action, which fit the bill. However, the focus here in itself, is a good departure as a movie on the managerial side of the sport of interest for either group.

Being a non-fanatical Monday morning quarterback, I enjoyed watching a view from behind-the-scenes for a change of pace, and getting a crash course in the extraneous details of what occurs in a crucial 24-hour period-similar to TV series "24"-leading up to the draft day ceremony.

As for the question of is it realism or Hollywood hype? Co-star and former professional football player now actor Terry Crews, who said he was an 11-round draft pick in 1991, in a pre-release call-in interview to the Steve Harvey Morning Show, stated that "Draft Day" was the first movie endorsed by the NFL.

So would the League sign-off on a film that represents a 'day-in-the-life of' a general manager played by sports cinema veteran Kevin Costner, managing the real-life Cleveland Browns, if it didn't measure up? Most likely not.

Sure, football fans will probably have a better understanding than will others of the evolving events being dramatized on the big screen, but I believe that's meant to give the rest of the audience a microcosmic picture of the high-pressured inner-workings and how it all comes together.

It presents an intimate look at the level of intensity that comes when the selection process rises to fever pitch (forgive the baseball reference) and how the lives of the hopefuls looking to get picked, as well as their families, hinges on the manager's final decision.

The film works well at drawing you into the thought-provoking/judgment-making job of Costner's character Sonny Weaver, while also keeping you glued to the countdown timer. The spliced boiler room frames meld cohesively to sustain moviegoers' heightened curiosity for the anticipated outcome.

Jennifer Garner is low-key as Costner's girlfriend, though a far cry from her starring lead role in TV's "Alias." Hers, along with Ellen Burstyn's portrayal, brings necessary added value to balance out the storyline.

As the father of a potential student draftee, Crews delivers a meaningful, non-comedic performance. The elements put in play, overall, make for a finely crafted sports entertainment feature everyone can enjoy.

Kabandis

There are some highly implausible and nonsensical plot elements here, yet despite that I found this movie to be a taut and engrossing sports tale and it kept my interest throughout.

Kevin Costner gives another solid performance here as Sonny Weaver, Jr., the beleaguered General Manager of the Cleveland Browns, in the NFL. He has to contend with a meddling owner (Frank Langella), a combative head coach (Denis Leary) and a very angry fan base who are tired of losing. Additionally, his father has just passed away, as he was the former coach of the Browns and fired by Sonny Jr (we find out late in the movie the reason why). Finally, he's in a relationship with the team's capologist (Jennifer Garner), and has just found out she's pregnant with their baby.

With the entire film set on NFL Draft Day, Sonny receives a call from the General Manager of the Seattle Seahawks who hold the #1 pick in the draft, who's expected to be the hot-shot quarterback Bo Callahan (Josh Pence). However, the Seahawks are willing to trade their #1 pick for a very dear price in return.

Under threat of being fired unless he makes a big splash in the draft, Sonny reluctantly agrees to the deal. Thus begins a long series of "wheelings and dealings" by NFL execs, as the start of the draft looms, which I thought was realistically portrayed, although I'm not sure how much non-football fans who don't know the lingo may understand.

It all will culminate in what I thought was quite the dramatic ending. As mentioned, if one can get past the implausible script elements, it can be a good watch.

The acclaimed filmmaker Ivan Reitman handles the direction here, with a screenplay from Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman.

Rivik

Just watched this with my movie theatre-working friend. We both enjoyed this story of a general manager of the Cleveland Browns who is played by Kevin Costner in trying to pick the right trades on the day of the NFL draft picks while also dealing with a pregnant associate (Jennifer Garner) he's in a relationship with, a coach who doesn't always agree with his choices (Dennis Leary), and a late father who was the previous coach that he had to fire beforehand due to age. I'll stop there and say I found much that was pretty funny and occasionally touching stuff about some of the players being considered. And director Ivan Reitman was pretty creative with some of the wipes involved in many scene transitions. So on that note, Draft Day is worth a look.

mIni-Like

First off, I am a huge NFL fan.I love the business aspect and the many different components of the NFL game, such as free agency, the draft, etc. So I knew I had to see this movie.

The movie primarily focuses on the Cleveland Browns and GM Sonny Weaver Jr (played by Kevin Costner), but the movie began in the Seattle Seahawks headquarters, where the GM is hoping to cash in on the #1 pick by suckering some team into giving them a king's ransom for it. He calls up Sonny and gauges his interest in the pick. Initially Sonny isn't interested in trading for it, but after being told by the higher ups of the Browns that they needed to make a splash, Sonny eventually deals the #7 pick in the 2014 draft, as well as their 2015 and 2016 1st round picks to Seattle for the #1 pick, where they are assumed to be taking the hotshot, can't miss prospect, QB Bo Callahan of Wisconsin.

There's a few other draft prospects, however, who make it known they want to be a part of the Cleveland Browns: LB Vontae Mack of Ohio State, and RB Ray Jennings (played by current Houston Texans RB Arian Foster) of Florida State, who is the son of a Cleveland Browns legend. Amid these issues, along with hearing his salary cap manager Ali is pregnant with his child, and the passing of his father just days after he fired him (previously the Browns coach), Sonny has a lot on his plate on this draft day.

At first, Sonny decides to roll with Callahan, which makes Browns fans rejoice, and the current Browns QB on the roster quite angry, so much so that he trashes Sonny's office and demands to be traded. He felt betrayed by Sonny, and pleads with Sonny that he is the guy to lead the franchise to glory, coming back better than ever after a knee injury in the previous season. The move also upsets Mack, who tweets out that it's a bad decision to pick Callahan. Sonny also receives disagreement regarding the overall decision from the new coach, who would rather make a new deal with the Buffalo Bills to acquire a few new players and more draft picks for the future.

After doing some background checking and scouting and such, Sonny finds some character issues with Bo Callahan and changes the pick in the final seconds to Vontae Mack. The collective NFL nation is stunned. Mack is watching the draft at his home with his family and is left speechless after hearing he was the pick. It also causes the current Browns QB to rejoice in knowing he's the guy.

Sonny and the Browns weren't done yet though. After seeing the teams in picks 2-5 pass on Bo Callahan, the GM of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who own pick #6, calls up Sonny and asks why teams are passing up on Callahan. Sonny dances around the question, but answers that he simply believes Callahan will be a bust and eventually convinces the Jaguars GM to deal the #6 pick to the Browns for 2nd round picks in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Sonny then takes this opportunity to call up the GM of the Seahawks and threaten to take Callahan away from the Seahawks. After some back and forth negotiations, Sonny gets back all the picks he originally traded to Seattle, as well as a punt returner, for pick #6. Seattle gets its man in Callahan, and the Browns pick Ray Jennings with pick #7. Sonny goes from goat to hero in a matter of minutes, and Browns football appears to be headed in a great direction for the future.

There's plenty more going on in the movie. It has its fair share of football and non-football related drama, enough to keep you interested and wanting to see what happens next.

My only complaints about the movie ... well, as an avid NFL fan, most of the trades that occurred in this movie would definitely not happen in today's NFL. The original trade (Cleveland acquires #1 pick, Seattle acquires three 1st rounders) is not too far-fetched, but the other moves are just completely unrealistic. The Jaguars traded away a top 10 1st round pick for three 2nd round picks. That would never happen, and the Jaguars would have been mocked forever for taking a trade like that in today's NFL. Then Seattle trading back those three 1st rounders and an apparently very good punt returner just to move up one spot? That is also foolish, even for a "can't miss" prospect. Of course, that's just nit-picky from someone who is a die-hard NFL fan and knows better.

The other complaint is that the actions of Mack/Jennings as well as the current Browns QB and coach were unrealistic behaviors at certain moments. Mack and Jennings calling Sonny and telling them to draft them? Complaining about potentially not being the guy? That would never ever ever happen. If a prospect did that, he'd probably go completely undrafted, or at least been red-flagged by just about every NFL GM out there. When the current Browns QB got wind of the first trade, he trashed Sonny's office and demanded a trade. Again, that's a move that would get you suspended or "blacklisted" by so many teams. Then the coach having the nerve to mock the GM and repetitively call the GM's moves "boneheaded"? You'd get fired on spot in today's NFL for comments like that.

Again, just some unrealistic things added to the movie to create drama and story lines, which is understandable, and didn't ruin the film for me at all, but true NFL fans will understand that sort of stuff would never happen.

To any football fans, particularly NFL fans, I recommend you see it. I don't know how much it would appeal to those who don't like football, though.

Thozius

First of all don't confuse this for a "Sports" movie.

It revolves around the NFL Draft, an annual event where the NFL managers are selecting players to join their teams.

It is a USA football thing, so if you are living in another continent, it is rather difficult to understand the rules and even more the point of this whole charade.

About the rules is something of a Poker game. At least as it looks in this picture. The manager of team A is on the phone with the manager of team B and they talk things like "I am giving you 2 of my first picks of the second round to give me your first pick for the next 2 years..." and so on.

Again, this is NOT about who wins a game or a trophy. This is merely about picking players whom you think they might be useful to your team. In the actual games they may proved to be bad choices, or injured or whatever, and despite being happy about your choices in the NFL draft, eventually to lose games and the season.

Now as movie "Draft Day" is carefully designed.

The direction and editing are trying to be "edgy" with unique split screen effects during the numerous phone-calls between the team managers. You can see for example Kevin Costner (who plays the lead role as an experienced yet unconventional manager) in a split screen walking into the other side of the frame where the manager of the other team is.

The music has a certain triumphant feeling without being to much in your face and the whole production is carefully designed.

I point that out because in this movie you have constantly the feeling that you are seeing great things taking place. Like every little decision is something that could change the world. But in reality all these "decisions" are something of a micromanagement. In the end and if you actually pay attention, what is happening and what the characters are talking about is totally uninteresting...

...and for the rest of the world, outside the US, confusing and pointless.

Nidor

On April 11, treat yourself to a nearly perfect film: Draft Day. Ivan Reitman directs a star- studded cast led by Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, and Dennis Leary. I scored tickets to a special pre-screening of the film and I haven't seen Costner this good since 1989's Field of Dreams. Draft Day is an amazing story for anyone who enjoys America's gladiator sport. It is also a brilliant hook for the NFL to use to attract new fans. In particular, those who have never seen the battles fought on the business side of the multibillion dollar franchise will find the story difficult to resist.

Several stories are told through characters who are all connected by one of the sport's holiest of days: NFL Draft Day. We see the worry experienced by a veteran quarterback who may lose his job if the press is right. We see a touching story of a son who wants to join the team his father played for. We see the conflict of a rookie torn between what is right and what is lucrative. We see a love story born from a mutual love and respect for football that clashes with a son's duty to his mother and the memory of his father.

No other film has ever looked so beautiful while capturing the excitement of football without centering on action sequences on the field. The beauty of this film is in the chemistry between Costner and Leary as they fight for control of the destiny of the Cleveland Browns, the looks exchanged and words unsaid between Costner and Garner as he struggles to be the man he wants to become, and in the struggle between Costner and Ellen Burstyn who is struggling to be the mother he needs.

Throughout the film we are privileged to see performances worthy of any prize yet the most surprising is that of Griffin Newman as Rick, the intern. He learns faster and bonds with more characters than any other cast member. He is simply brilliant and is officially on my list of actors to watch in the coming year.

Draft Day is everything we wish American football will be. We want the struggle, the fight, and the triumph of Draft Day. I only hope a sequel is coming soon because after watching what these characters endure just to make it to the draft, I desperately want to see how their first season ends.

Syleazahad

Short Review: This movie will mean nothing to anybody uninterested or unfamiliar with the NFL draft.

Long Review: How does someone make a good movie out of a subject matter that is as dry and corporate as the NFL draft? I'll let you know when I see one.

Going in knowing that the content would be painfully middle of the road, if only because a movie sponsored by the NFL (like any good propaganda film) must have been sifted through for any questionable or inflammatory content by every owner in the league prior to completion, the only reason I went to see this movie was because I am a fan of the NFL and thought (at the very least) it would be cool to see a football movie that used actual NFL team logos. But after about 5 minutes of that and the relentless barrage of corporate product placement, it all got old and I was forced to pay attention to the story.

Synopsis: Directed by Ivan Reitman (a man who is responsible for far more stinkers than good movies; stop trying to defend him) "Draft Day" tells the story of fictional Cleveland Browns general manager Sonny Weaver as he wrestles with what college prospect he will pick on Draft Day. Doesn't that sound like a riveting idea for a movie? Well, it is slightly more interesting than it sounds, but just slightly.

Right off the bat it is revealed that Sonny is dating a woman named Ali, played by Jennifer Garner; a pairing that not only lacks any chemistry, but is visually off-putting. And aside from an ending that I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed, Dennis Leary's performance as an unapologetic caricature of Barry Switzer and Chadwick Boseman's performance as a prospect wildly undervalued by NFL scouts, it's all downhill from there. Even the direction from this seasoned filmmaker is pretty awful, full of amateurish wipes and an over abundant use of the split screen effect.

Final Thought: While I was interested to see this film through, if only to find out what prospect Sonny selected, far too much of "Draft Day" is soap opera dramatic and stiff as hell. But I guess it's not all Rietman's fault. He does manage to coax as much theatrical entertainment out of an aspect of football that doesn't include the act of playing football.

Qag

It is a great flick! I love football and was thrilled to see a couple of my Favorite teams portrayed in this movie.... KC and Seattle! There are several NFL teams in this movie. I saw a special screening of it before it was released. I took my friend who does NOT like football and she actually really enjoyed it. It is more about the draft process of the teams than any actual football being played. I liked the story line really well and it was a good paced movie, never boring. I recommend the movie whether you are a football fan or not. Give it a shot and go see it. I am actually going to buy the DVD when it comes out. I think Kevin Costner did a great job! S

WOGY

Here are a few facts to ponder going into this review. First of all, I'm a HUGE Kevin Costner fan and am thoroughly enjoying his resurgence in theatres already in 2014. Simply because of my love for him I was eagerly anticipating this. Some were comparing it to Moneyball and that made me nervous because frankly I thought Moneyball was a stone cold dud. I am NOT a huge sports fan. I go to the occasional game for fun (Baseball and Hockey preferably) and outside of playing a little football in High School, I am not a football fan by any stretch of the imagination. One IMDb reviewer opened their review by saying that anyone who wasn't interested in football or the draft would find this boring...I couldn't disagree more. Reitman (a brilliant director in my books) has created a film that simply anyone can enjoy. You will find yourself enthralled by these characters and you will feel the amazing tension, the stress, the minute by minute thrill of being amongst these people making vital decisions to their team. It isn't about whether this time is successful (we don't even find that out) its simply about the Draft as the title implies and I was riveted to put it mildly. The script is brilliant, the dialogue is very smart and keeps you watching for each moment as it changes. Regardless of your football knowledge or expertise or lack thereof, you will follow this and just have a great time doing it.

Kevin Costner is charismatic period. He certainly loves his sports film and name one he's done that wasn't good or is considered a "classic" now. Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Tin Cup, For The Love of The Game...they're all at least very watchable. Draft Day is deserving to sit amongst them but it is a very different sort of "sports movie." Costner's Sonny Weaver is a fascinating character. You will literally see and feel his stress and tension and what he's going through and then you watch the pay off as he casually yells "I LOVE THIS JOB." Costner was bang on. I find it hard to really sink myself into Jennifer Garner as an actress. She's cute and fun but when I see her in films like this that require a certain amount of intensity, seriousness and drama. She comes across almost bored and just doesn't seem to manage the role as deep as she should. She is okay in Draft Day, her chemistry with Costner is decent (and believable given their age difference) and I suppose her subtle performance leaves room for Costner to really shine. Another reason Draft Day is so good is the amazing whose who of character actors in supporting roles. Chadwick Boseman, Patrick St. Esprit, Terry Crews, Frank Langella, Denis Leary, Timothy Simons, Sean Combs and Tom Welling each deserve mention for their respective roles. I handpicked those supporting performances because small or big they each had a moment that was perfect. For most of them it was scenes exchanging dialogue with Costner and it was simply well done to say the least. Welling (whom I am also a big fan of from Smallville days) has literally one significant scene and it was enough for me to go...wow. Josh Pence was a little underwhelming in his role as coveted quarterback Bo. I think the role could have been great but he doesn't put much into it and is quite generic. I also don't quite understand the role played by Griffin Newman who might be some sort of comedic relief but is really expendable and goes nowhere.

Legendary director and producer Ivan Reitman very nearly always tells an incredibly entertaining story. He brings the most out of these characters and makes them so vivid and most importantly has a way of making you feel like you are right there...no matter how ridiculous the concept. Draft Day is obviously very realistic but he deserves such great kudos for crafting a story that I believe anyone can sink themselves into. He didn't disappoint me one bit and my expectations were decently high. Move over Moneyball (I don't care how much critics liked it and the ridiculous Oscar nominations it got) this was superior in every single way. Football fans will enjoy the myriad of NFL'ers playing themselves and the film is laid out in such a way to subtly explain everything to those of us not familiar with the sport. Draft Day is a must see and I guarantee will hold its own in the hall of fame for sports films. An absolute pleasure! 9/10

Maridor

I'm always up for a good football movie and I'm pretty sure that hasn't been one since 2009 when The Blind Side came out. Now, we have a new story from director Ivan Reitman about that one day in the NFL offseason everyone anticipates, Draft Day.

The film begins hours before the NFL Draft begins, and Sonny Weaver Jr. (Kevin Costner) is just getting ready for the day that may make or break his tenure as the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns. Sonny knows everything that is going on even before getting to the office. He has ESPN on his TV at home, and listens to all the sports radio talk. Early in the day, Sonny makes a deal with the Seattle Seahawks, who have the #1 pick and are expected to take hotshot quarterback Bo Callahan. The deal involved the Browns getting the #1 pick from the Seahawks in exchange for their first round picks for the next three seasons. Everyone is expecting Sonny to pick Callahan, but there are two other prospects Sonny is interested in: a linebacker with a good heart but a mouth on him named Vontae Mack (Chadwick Boseman) and running back Ray Jennings (Current Houston Texans running back Arian Foster), whose father Earl (Terry Crews) was a Browns legend. This move has made Browns fans happy put has angered some Browns personnel, such as head coach Vince Penn (Denis Leary) and starting quarterback Brian Drew (Tom Welling). Ultimately, the choice belongs to Sonny, who is also facing some personal issues with his father, a legendary coach, having passed away a week before the film begins and his girlfriend and fellow co-worker Allie (Jennifer Garner) is pregnant with his child. The film goes through Sonny's day with dealing all the pressure, especially from owner Anthony Molina (Frank Langella).

Ivan Reitman has done an awesome job of telling a football story revolving around a big media frenzy every year. I like that he focuses the story on Kevin Costner's sunny and making about the GM of the team, a very tough job indeed. He and director of photography Eric Steelburg (who has shot Reitman's son's films) do a nice job of intertwining the phone conversations between any two characters, usually Sonny and somebody else.

Kevin Costner is just excellent at the front and center of this film. He is great at being the man under pressure from every one and their cousin as his job is on the line. Jennifer Garner is good in her part as girlfriend Allie, but I think any actress could have played that part. Denis Leary is great as the coach who wants to win. Frank Langella was enjoyable as the owner, but my favorite supporting performance was Chadwick Boseman as hothead linebacker Vontae Mack.

Cleveland Browns fans will certainly be happy with this film being about their team. While I am not a Browns fan, I got a football movie I highly enjoyed.

Jeronashe

A busy, breezy sports drama. A much anticipated, life-changing, career making day for a few hundred young men that have dreams of playing in the NFL. General Managers and coaches can even either be retained or given their walking papers. Sonny Weaver(Kevin Costner)is the GM of the Cleveland Browns and has the chance to save football in his city by trading for a concensus number one pick. The clock is ticking and two other situations occupy his train of thought...the owner of the team is looking for a good excuse to fire him; and his personal assistant(Jennifer Garner)is pregnant and his decision might just cost him their relationship. And by the way, there is a highly-touted quarterback with an iffy future to deal with. Trading three future number one picks and a current number seven pick for the much sought after #1 pick will just be the first of Weaver's wheeling and dealing. At the end of this pressure cooker day, will he still have his job; will he have the players he really wants on the field; and will his personal life still be intact? DRAFT DAY also features: Denis Leary, Frank Langella, Chadwick Boseman, Sam Elliott, Dave Donaldson, Chi McBride, Anthony Rizzo, Dion Sanders, Patrick St. Esprit, Josh Pence, Ellen Burstyn and Chris Berman.

Vivados

This movie depicts one day, NFL draft day. This is where each team hopes to get the one or two college players that will help them get to the Superbowl, and where the top college prospects hole to become instant multi-millionaires. The movie includes many who really are in football, including the NFL commissioner playing himself, so I choose to believe that what it portrays, while fictional is also plausible.

Kevin Costner is Sonny Weaver Jr., his father the former Cleveland Browns coach died very recently, and as Browns General Manager is faced with the #1 pick resulting from their dismal record the season before. The Heisman winner is quarterback "Bo" and everyone, including the owner, assumes that Sonny will pick him.

But as anyone who follows pro football knows, many trades are made on draft day, sometimes just minutes before a pick needs to be made, and that is largely what is depicted here. Sonny is not sure that "Bo" is the best pick for Cleveland, they have a good QB (Tom Welling of Smallville fame) that was injured last year and he seems to be stronger than ever after recuperation.

The other key character is Jennifer Garner who, in spite of the 17- yr age difference in real life, is Sonny's love interest. But also the person who looks after the Browns payroll and balances salaries so as not to exceed the salary cap.

Also Dennis Leary is good as the coach. But this is a Costner movie all the way and he is good in his role as the GM with his own view of the draft day scene, who gets what he wants and what his team needs, but has to do it with a series of unexpected trades.

Good movie!!

Love Me

Forget about the football. This film is about the importance of restoring humanity to the cold machinery of capitalism. It's about how someone with power should deal with people. In the calculation of a company's need, amid all the quantifiable criteria the overriding importance lies in character. Know your people, know their value, know their weakness, and give them the chance to realize themselves. Then it doesn't matter whether you win or lose. You've made life as good as you can for your team.

That's the strength of Sonny Weaver Jr (Kevin Costner, touching and superb as a good man in a brute job). He carries his genius coach father's name so he feels an extra onus, especially since as GM he fired his dad (who has just died). But he's Sonny so even as a son he's upbeat, sunny. The weaver can weave dreams (like those of his NFL draft prospects, his team, the losing Cleveland Browned-off fans) or an entrapping, debilitating web (same list, plus his girlfriend, his own ambitions) or a harmonious creation (as at film's end the Browns seem poised to become).

This sensitivity is all the more important in a traditionally male industry — like politics and, yeah, I suppose to some extent like the NFL. As Sonny's team accountant/lawyer Ali (Jennifer Garner) observes, it's ironic that the top award in this ultra-macho sport is a piece of jewelry. That rings true, especially as Ali is also GM Sonny's main squeeze and is carrying his kid. Against the tradition, this woman is one of the grid-savviest characters in the film. She proposes the special teams Seahawk to complete the penultimate deal. And Sonny fired his dad at his mother's (Ellen Burstyn) request, to save the old guy's life. Women make key decisions here. Sonny's human instincts are definitely from his feminine side. Still, he's a guy in a guy's world (capitalism or its apogee, NFL) so he needs feminine sensitivity but not any indulgent sentimentality. That keeps him reticent when the women want him to talk.

Hence Sonny's maneuvering in the snakey plot. He's tempted to make the deal his macho team owner (Frank Langella) demands but balks when he gets an insight into the prize prospect's character. The guy lies. So he doesn't really command his teammates' respect. As there is less to this star quarterback than meets the eye on the win-loss column, so there's more to the passionate linebacker whom Sonny prefers. The QB racks up the gals but the LB was ejected for giving his TD football to a woman in the stands — his dying sister. Sonny opts for character. He even forgives the good man's indiscreet tweeting, given his fuller sense of the man. He keeps his coach despite his betrayal and opposition. And the GM is man enough to apologize to the intern, lowest on the totem pole.

The team owner is a showboat without the understanding his GM marshalls. He'll never know why Sonny made the decisions he did but he's happy here because he thinks they'll win for him. The bust QB's total commitment to winning disqualifies that value.

This is as good a film as Canadian director Ivan Reitman has made. The script is tense, concise, witty, suspenseful, full of interesting characters with a range of strength/weakness, equally valuable.

Reitman plays an interesting trick here. Phone conversations are often presented in split screens. That's conventional. Reitman's trick is to have a character in one screen lap over into the other. The characters are physically in different spaces, but that overlap reminds us of the essential unity of people across whatever divides them. That twist on the device enforces the central theme of the community and sensitivity that should bind the separate, even conflicting components in any enterprise, especially business, and --especially today -- politics.

I'm looking forward to the sequel. Sonny and Ali have their kid. With both parents so passionately steeped in football, the kid grows up — to espouse cricket. For more see www.yacowar.blogspot.com.

Cells

This movie is atrocious. Mind you, I went in with rather high expectations, but this movie literally had me cracking up with how awful some of the writing and story lines were. It's not a Football movie, it's not a Hollywood movie, it's a Lifetime movie.

Here's a list of stuff just thinking off the top of my head:

Sunny (Kevin Costner) gets his girlfriend (Jennifer Garner) pregnant, who is clearly in her early 40's. Not out of the realm of possibility, but still..

Sunny makes a trade hours before the draft that no one in their right mind WOULD EVEN CONSIDER without conferring with his owner, coach, or even considering salary cap implications. He gives up three straight number one for the first overall pick in this year's draft.

After he's made said dumb trade, he then has his guys look deeper on the potential no.1 overall pick. "Find me something." Great strategy, considering he traded 3 straight first rounders for the right to pick this guy. Definitely realistic.

Denis Leary is the coach. That should be all you need to know on that.

JUST HOURS BEFORE THE DRAFT, his mother comes in insisting right then and there they go out to the practice field to spread his deceased father's ashes. Of course, his ex-wife also has to be in the room, and meet the newly knocked up girlfriend too.

When Sunny refuses to spread the ashes, his mother somehow rounds up the rest of the Cleveland Browns office (about 50 people) to go out with her while she spreads the ashes. This is about two hours before the draft.

On the day of the draft, he of course picks the guy with the character and passes on the aloof quarterback. Of course there has to be a way to fix this right? So he somehow rectifies his bad trade by getting Seattle to take an EVEN WORSE trade so they can get the guy they want at the 7 slot.

After almost being fired by the owner minutes before, Sunny is greeted by a standing ovation after he pulls off said miraculous trade.

I can't think of anything else specifically, but this is an awful, factually inaccurate movie. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Tori Texer

Where do I start with this movie? First of all the NFL Draft is becoming a national prime time event full of last minute trades and enough real drama, how could you not find realistic material there right? Nope, not Hollywood. Instead they come up with this outlandish story of a GM under pressure from the owner to make a splash in the draft. And just for good Hollywood measure they throw in these cliché'd personal issues to the GM: girlfriend is pregnant, living in the shadow of his famous father, etc. etc. You know the LIFETIME movie treatment. Well I could stand that if they just showed the drama of the NFL draft...but nooooo Instead they have him make a deal that NO, and I mean NO one in their right mind would make who knew anything about Criquet, not to mention the NFL. So the rest of the movie he deals with the cardboard cutout coaches and NFL front office people that are such parodies, MAD Magazine wouldn't use them as they are too ridiculous. And how do they get him out of this hole? Well they drop the IQ of all the characters he deals with so he can outwit them into making even more ridiculous trades than he did to get himself into this mess. THAT"s IT, no clever twist, nothing like that, just all of a sudden everyone else gets real dumb~! Then he becomes the hero. And oh yeah lets all of the sudden stuff in a bunch of cameos of Brown's alumni for no real reason. If I was a Brown's fan (TG I"m not) I'd find this movie just another reason to be embarrassed about my team. The only thing this film got semi-right is the portrayal of the potential draftees and even then the interaction the main character was having with them prior to contracts and such would probably be against NFL rules...but Ill let that slide. Its been a long time since a movie disappointed me this much, because I know there is a wealth of material that could have made it great. I know Kevin C's career is waning, but he should have passed on this dog.

In closing just to show you how wrong this movie got it, they have the Seattle Seahawks with the 1st overall pick, which as anyone knows goes to the team with the worst record in the league, and of course the Seahawks won the Super Bowl this year. LOL

Goll

In general I like sports films and I like Kevin Costner sports films, Field of Dreams and For Love of the Game are great, but in this film our little wolf dancer's film is about American football and not baseball. The film was written by a new script writing pair and Ivan Reitman is in the director's chair. It's interesting Ivan Reitman was one of the biggest starts in the 80s, with directing films like Ghostbusters and Twins, then he disappeared for a few years and the Reitman name is mostly known now because of his son. Because of all this this is typically the type of film that had me thinking I would be pleased, but I wasn't really expecting too much. And what did I get? It's interesting. Imagine an action flick about American football where we never see a ball once, and the whole thing is like an ad, with a genius main actor. That's Draft Day. So let's talk about the story: On the day of the fictionalized 2014 NFL Draft, the consensus number one pick is a University of Wisconsin quarterback, Bo Callahan, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. Cleveland Browns General Manager Sonny Weaver Jr. (Kevin Costner), whose father coached the Browns and was fired by his son and passed away a week before the draft, are holding the seventh overall pick. He is given the opportunity to trade for the 1st overall draft pick, held by a fictionalized version of the Seattle Seahawks and his boss and owner. Weaver is also recently aware of the pregnancy of his girlfriend Ali Parker (Jennifer Garner) with his child. Parker also works for the Browns as a lawyer concerned with ensuring the integrity of the Browns' salary cap, and their relationship is intended to be secret from the rest of the Browns staff. The truth is, that the story just shows us what a Draft is in a split screen action film. I kept thinking about two things during the film. Moneyball, and kids sitting around trading baseball cards and talking about players. That's all. Is that enough for a film? It is but The film is quick, it doesn't get boring and the actors are good. Especially Costner and Dennis Leary. And anyone who likes AFL will find it interesting and I think will enjoy it. The problem to me starts with the fact that there is no back story beside the action. Or I should say nothing too deep. Just think about For Love of the Game, it was just about baseball, but oh the story line behind the game A whole life. What's the story here? Nothing. It didn't make the film bad, it just could have been so much more, maybe seeing more of Costner's character's private life, his tragedies, but alas. I thought the storyline was the biggest problem. The script is written well, it's just the story that wasn't really worked out fully and you can feel it, with a little more work it could have been a fantastic sports film. All in all because I like sports films, and AFL and Kevin Costner I liked this film, but in my humble opinion if someone isn't really interested in the intrigue of the behind the scenes of the AFL, specifically the way the draft works I don't think they'll like this film. It would just be a boring film about things they don't really understand. That's why I give it a 6/10, but it would be less if I was an impartial viewer.

Alsanadar

This is a strange movie for many reasons...the relationships between the GM and unsigned players and his coach seem very unrealistic.

No unsigned player is calling up a NFL GM on his cell phone and telling him what number to draft him at.

Nor is anyone happy to go to Cleveland who hasn't won a championship since 1964 especially a first round QB pick.

And no coach is setting fires in his GM's office and calling out his relationships.

And no player is trashing the GM's office.

No GM goes against his owners wishes on draft day...that's just silly

Costner comes off a bit bland as do most of the actors, I don't feel they really care about the script. The young players are the best of them. The whole relationship thing with his pregnant girlfriend is very boring and the mother is annoying.

The film is watchable but again the acting (fans, guys around the GM, coach) all come off as acting and not natural.

Must have been embarrassing for the filmmakers to have Seattle with the number one pick (worst record the year before) as they won the Superbowl by a huge margin and then have this movie come out in April 2014

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