Surprisingly good!

Rating: 9/10 (14 March 2002)

As far as I'm concerned, Oliver Stone has quite a mixed body of work. "Platoon" was definitely Oscar worthy, but then there was the conspiracy theory nonsense of "JFK" and the over the top violence of "Natural Born Killers". But Stone puts in a solid effort with this film, a movie that both pays homage to and takes a critical look at the world of professional football.
The plot itself is fairly conventional. It's basically relating the never-ending conflict between youth and maturity. On the one side, you've got experience, tradition, and loyalty, on the other, energy, innovation, and self interest. Representing the former are Al Pacino, as the coach of the Miami Sharks and their veteran quarterback, Jack 'Cap' Rooney, played by Dennis Quaid. The `young guns' consist of Cameron Diaz, a hot yet cold-blooded blonde who has inherited the team from her father, and the equally hot backup QB, Willie Beamon, (Jamie Foxx) who takes over the starting spot after Rooney gets sidelined by an injury. And, despite some great football action footage, the most memorable scenes are those which show the essential conflicts between these two forces, most notably when Pacino and Foxx turn a lunch meeting into a no holds barred verbal brawl, and when Pacino and Diaz face off over who, and more importantly, whose values, will guide the team. In addition, there's a nicely developed side issue, a conflict between the team's doctors, one an old cynic, played by James Woods, who lies to his players about the severity of their injuries in order to keep their morale (and the team's cash flow) up, and the other a youngster who still retains his ideals and basic decency. In these scenes, Stone delivers first-rate acting and interpersonal drama at its best.

In short, what makes this movie work is that Oliver Stone, while using his film to address larger social issues, nonetheless focuses first and foremost on telling a really good story. All the key actors are allowed to portray fully three-dimensional characters. We can relate to Pacino as the `old school' coach, a man who used to settle contract issues with Diaz's father over a beer and a handshake, Quaid as the legend who must nonetheless face both his age and his injuries, Foxx as the young hotshot with an attitude and a chip on his shoulder, and finally Diaz, who, despite being quite the icy bitch, also represents the business realities of modern day sports. There's also fine work by the supporting actors, most notably Jim Brown as an assistant coach, who reminisces about the `old days' when players had to sell used cars in the off season just to make ends meet. On the one hand, we can see how modern players are finally getting their fair slice of the financial pie, yet at the same time mourn the loss of team loyalty and the purity of playing for the sake of the game instead of for the next contract negotiation.

9/10