Almost (but not quite) makes the game interesting

Rating: Null/10 (9 April 2002)

"Any Given Sunday" had a tough job when it came to me: I don't like soccer. I like American football even less. I find it dull and uninteresting - could "Any Given Sunday" drag me in? Almost, but not quite.
Acting wise? Pacino is good. He always is. He's the coach for a team on a losing streak, trying to bring them back up to form (does he succeed? Whaddya think...). He's got a brand new super player - Jamie Foxx - whose arrogance matches his skill, and a manager, played by Diaz, who sees her money draining away, to contend with in this 162 minute movie.
As there's not much in the way of the plot, the work of making the movie is in Oliver Stone's hands. He uses a variety of techniques including sound, camera angles, and different film stock to drag you into the heat and action of the game. I actually did feel the adrenaline pumping fury of the sport, and the raw energy dispersed, undercut with constant brooding violence. The movie has a great "docu" style to it, and the use of relative unknowns for the players, helps enhance this feeling of reality. There's a pretty decent soundtrack accompanying the movie as well, which helps you feel the passion.
However the movie tends to meander. There's a lack of a decent structure to it, and a sense of over-brutality of the sport. More importantly, the movie couldn't quite drag me in. I'm still uninterested in the sport. I got bored when they were discussing tactics because they were talking in terms I had no familiarity with. The movie often felt padded - needless amounts of game footage, just put in to lengthen the running time. Wandering attention is not good in a movie. As an American football movie it's probably great, but as a movie it alienates those not into the sport. Stone makes an admirable effort here, credit to him, but I can't quite get into this hobby horse of his. 5/10.