Football field + war zone = Oliver Stone

Rating: 6/10 (23 July 2005)

Overlong, but appropriately(and predictably)overheated grid-iron drama from director Oliver Stone makes the football field look like a battleground at war-time(and verbally compares the player's huddle to a foxhole). Al Pacino is the coach facing five losses in a row, Dennis Quaid is the aging quarterback, Jamie Foxx is the new star in town, and Cameron Diaz is the daughter of the team's owner, now deceased. Many great throwaway moments, lots of kinetic film-making energy, but the movie makes its points early on and then hammers at them for another hour and a half. Great cast, including Charlton Heston and Ann-Margret in small roles, is up for the challenges of the demanding scenario(with Quaid in particular doing some of his best work ever), but after awhile this gets repetitious, with the viewer batted around as much as the players.