"Any Given Sunday" is 2 movies. One is really good (****), the other is very mediocre to bad (*).

Rating: 6/10 (11 January 2000)

The good movie is the one about playing football or being a football player. The photography and special effects of the on-the-field scenes are awesome. The soundtrack, camera angles, and music (mostly Rap) create what must be the trill of being a professional football player. There is one scene where the quarterback is told to go out and make a play. He's reminded of 3 or 4 things by the coaches as he leaves the sidelines (the receivers, the defenders, the pass routes, his blockers, his options, etc.). When the ball is hiked to him he stands up in amazing chaos. In a split second he has to remember everything he was trained to do, make the play and not get killed. The camera focus on his eyes, the soundtrack is booming, total confusion and the play is over. Everything about being a football player (on the field, in the locker room, in the bars, at home with the family, with hookers and groupies, in the training room, on the sidelines) is great cinema. All the subplots and side stories are boring (young QB v. old QB, young coach v. old coach, new owner/GM v. old owner/GM, mother daughter story, politics, old doctor v. young doctor). The acting is mediocre at best. Al, Cameron, James, Mathew, LL, Jamie, etc. aren't the stars. The stars of this movie are the camera, sound, and special effects crews. Pay full price, if you're interested in football. This movie isn't going to work on video.