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Draft Day

Draft Day (2014)

April. 11,2014
|
6.8
|
PG-13
| Drama

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.

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Reviews

Cubussoli
2014/04/11

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

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VeteranLight
2014/04/12

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

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CrawlerChunky
2014/04/13

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

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PiraBit
2014/04/14

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

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justinjbrunner
2014/04/15

This film was well-acted and competently shot, but it definitely can't be called a great sports film. Great sports films transcend the sport they portray. At many points, Draft Day finds itself challenged to even transcend the annual event of the NFL draft. Indeed, at times the film felt like a mere vehicle for promoting the TV extravaganza that the NFL has made of its annual rookie selection process. I was certainly entertained by the concept and plot, as I'm a fairly engaged NFL fan and an avid follower of the off-season moves that NFL personnel offices make in order to improve their teams. However, I think that this film is entertaining to people like me and no one else, which is unfortunate. There was real human drama and consequence that could have been added to the film if a few of the other characters were better developed. While Costner's character was fairly well fleshed out, Chadwick Boseman's, Dennis Leary's, and most importantly Jennifer Garner's were not, and instead felt like mere placeholders (and at times even sports movie clichés). In my estimation, the director and writers missed a prime opportunity to show the personal stress and grueling work hours that can accompany the high-profile positions these characters each hold in a multi-billion-dollar industry. A few scenes of how the demands of professional football impact their family relationships and how their lives are seasonally consumed with the work of running the organization (and in the case of Boseman's character, of trying to break into an industry that will batter his body but allow him to acquire wealth and security for his family). The scenes in Draft Day that attempt to touch on these issues are superficial at best, and didn't effectively convey the struggles these people face, even while they are scrutinized and shamed by the general public, and hounded by the media. POSSIBLE SPOILER: the scene that did partially touch on the fan reaction side was so detached as to be comical, with fans protesting outside the stadium of a GM who made a decision they didn't like.In all, I would call Draft Day a missed opportunity - The script was good, the cast was excellent, and there is a hint of the high stakes that the NFL Draft can encompass, but the movie fails to do anything to get the attention of those who aren't already at least casual fans of the NFL and it's Draft event. And in that, I would say that it even fails in its attempt (and I would argue that this is the real goal of the film in the first place) to attract an expanded viewership to the NFL's Draft Day event. For my part, even as a staunch fan of NFL football and professional sports personnel machinations, I was mostly bored while watching Draft Day.

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SimonJack
2014/04/16

"Draft Day" is quite unusual as a sports movie. It doesn't show any of the cast actually playing or coaching in practice or a game. It does have some film clips of great NFL games of the past. What it's about is the behind the scenes big business of building teams each year during the NFL draft. It includes aspects of caring about players, talent scouts and searches, player agents, owners, coaches and team managers.And, for the realism of this film, it includes scenes that show some of the NFL stadiums around the U.S. Other realism is added with the on-site filming of the 2013 NFL draft in New York City, and scripted reports by TV sports show hosts Chris Berman and others. While some may be put off by the backstage wrangling and big business aspects of professional football, this gives a glimpse of what that must be like. Without the NFL draft to regulate and help level the field for various franchises to build their teams, the sport would be chaotic and probably dwindle to just a few teams that had the backing to afford the salaries and costs. The cast all perform well. Kevin Costner, as Sonny Weaver Jr., gives a real sense of the angst a manager must go through around the time of the annual NFL draft. All of the cast give good performances. I thought it somewhat strange and out of character, though, for Sonny's mother to insist on spreading her husband's ashes on the field on the most trying day of the year for her son. As a football wife and widow, she surely would have waited until the next day. The film has a sense of reality about it. It's refreshing for not being laden with foul language. It has romance without the frequent Hollywood nudity or sex. It reflects the growing modern view of intimate relationships, including having children, with no thoughts or commitments for marriage. Most sports fan should enjoy this film, and others should find it interesting. It may help non-enthusiasts to a little better understand the scope of professional football. My favorite line in the film is Ali (played by Jennifer Garner) telling Sonny, "There's no such thing as a sure thing. At the end of the day, all that matters… is what do you think?" (sic)

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Floated2
2014/04/17

Draft Day (2014) is a film for which is mainly centered for the most avid of sports football fans alike. Being described as a "sports" film but this is technically not a sports film in that it is more so based on the event of the draft than the actual sport of football. Football is mainly very popular in American and the box office numbers of this film very evidently show that, as this film was non- existent in the foreign market (making less than $1 million). This is a main reason why this film has been considered a box office flop since most of the money it made was domestic, and with a considerable large budget of $25 million it was difficult in making back the money. Had this film had a better outing, it most likely would have been greenlit for a sequel as the ending of the film and overall tone suggested a sequel could have happened.About the film, Draft Day is quality in entertainment and the writing is quite well. Centering on Kevin Coaster, portraying a general manager of the Cleveland Browns (a team with many misfortunes within the last decade plus). Draft Day shows the behind the scenes of how much pressure is on the GM as well as the team in making the right choice to better their football team. It plays out somewhat of a documentary but remains entertaining and intriguing due to well thought out subplots and overall interest of the event. Being better than expected, there was a certain level of drama and intrigued throughout and the results did leave audiences well put. Such as we are engaged in the decisions the GM was to make for their team, even though we are not fans of the particularly team. We wanted to know which player Coaster's character would select in the draft, and it was not as predictable as one though, which is a plus. Another good thing is there wasn't any forced cheesy humor that we see a lot in these type of sports drama, this film kept it authentic and it worked. Memorable quote said by Coaster: "No one can stop a ticking clock, the great ones always find a way to slow it down." Overall, since Draft Day did not perform as well as it could have, this film remains for quality avid football fans and is quite underrated at that.

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Ahmed Okasha
2014/04/18

I actually barley Know a thing about The American Football and it was difficult for me to get what is happening at first but nearly to the end I understand it totally. The movie will but you in what really happens during The Draft Day with a lot of excitement and expecting.It's fun to watch it at the end for calm day while you are resting and eating some snacks and don't want to tire your mind with a heavy movie, It's simply an interesting light movie.Kevin Costner was great as always but I really didn't felt him as guy who still in a new relation ship with Jennifer Garner who is more than 10 years younger than him but it's OK, It's Kevin Costner after all.

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