If you haven't played the game, don't judge this movie harshly

Rating: 9/10 (25 August 2003)

I will admit: I have never played football at a professional level (Only at the High School and hopefully soon at the college level. I'm a Nose Guard and occasionaly an Offensive Tackle). But Pro Football (American Football, not that Communist soccer BS) is portrayed pretty well here.

===============================================> The movie is about an imaginary Football Franchise in an imaginary Football League (Though they do mention the NFL). Al Pacino plays the old, stressed coach of the Miami Sharks. When his 1st and 2nd string Quarterbacks go down, he is forced to put 3rd stringer Willie Beaman (Fox) into the game. When Willie becomes a star, problems arise within the franchise about ego, money, etc.
==============================================> In regards to the way the Franchise is run, this movie is not terribly realistic, though not too far off the truth. The first string quarterback isn't even 40 and is considered very old, which is true in the NFL. But the parties, drugs, etc, while still in the NFL, are largely a thing of the past, due to current ethics stipulations put in most contracts. They over-do the drama that is being a professional player in a lot of areas.

But the action in the games/practices is almost dead on. I've given (and taken) hits in games, and the pain comes back every time I watch it. The feeling, the rush, you get from hearing another man's pain filled scream as you put your shoulder-pad into his chest isn't really something you can explain, without having experienced it.
Of course, some things are totally BS. The eye thing was stupid and probably just there for 'shock and awe' value. But for the most part, pretty realistic.
The acting is...pretty good, though nothing stellar. Pacino does the best job, portraying an old, broken down, frustrated coach past his prime. Fox is good, though could have been better. LL Cool Jay over-acts a bit, but is convincing.
The soundtrack is standard, but still good, mostly techno-jock jam stuff. I'm not a big fan of Moby, but it fits the movie nicely.

The action scenes are pretty well done, mostly by ex-players/no-names I've been told. There's a little too much high-flying and over-dramatic stunts, but mostly it's pretty realistic.
There's not much to say about this movie. But I do want to say one thing:
If you've never played the game, never strapped on the pads, never buckled the helmet, don't imedeatly call this movie crap. Is it perfect? Not nearly. They should have had a lot more playing scenes, and they over-dramatized a lot.
But If you've never run 100 yard wind sprints, never taken pain-killers 6 times a day, never been in the hospital for a concussion, never woke up covered in bruises, never spent 4 hours a day in the weight-room, and never been on the field of battle with 10 other people who are closer than brothers to you, don't slam this movie.