Will disappoint Stone fans

Rating: 6/10 (15 May 2002)

The best way for me to express my views on "Any Given Sunday" is to paraphrase Roger Ebert's review. Whenever I watch a film with Oliver Stone at the helm, I am acutely aware that he has a great deal to say about the subject matter, and that he is desperate to convey as much of it as possible before the credits roll. This is not the case for his most recent work, which is one of his few misfires. We never thought it could happen, but the man has actually made a film with little to say about a hot topic. He does little more than rehash ancient sports clichés, with the usual about teamwork, loyalty, and last-minute saves. We've seen it all before, often in much better movies. It's still watchable, but also shallow and empty, no matter how forcibly Stone tries to convince us of any deep meaning.
Stone employs his traditional cinematic flourishes; rapid editing, filters, interchanging film stocks, and so fourth, but to little avail. The final result is little more than a three-hour rock video. His films have often been accused of favoring style over substance, and for once, his critics speak correctly. "JFK," "Natural Born Killers," and "Nixon" made use of the same techniques, but with a purpose; they skillfully combined form and content, giving the films a novelistic complexity. In fact, at times it was an absolute necessity. Not here; in "Any Given Sunday," it seems like an attempt to distract us from the tired plot.
Is the film entirely devoid of merit? No, but it's still a major letdown from a director of Stone's caliber. Nonetheless, from a strictly technical perspective, one can admire the editing and cinematography. The performances are adequate (with Diaz coming off best), and Pacino's heart-to-heart talk with Foxx, intercut with footage from "Ben-Hur," is admittedly impressive. Overall, though, it's clear that the director expended a mere fraction of his creative powers upon this project. Let me end this review with another of Ebert's observations: if the film had been trimmed by the studio, it might actually have been an improvement.
** (out of ****)
Released by Warner Bros.