Watch PBS's "League of Denial" instead

Rating: 6/10 (9 April 2016)

I wanted to like this movie. I know a lot of people who may not sit through a documentary but probably would sit through a good movie. I was hoping this would connect with them. However, this movie is a bit long-winded and boring. The movie was 2 hours long but it felt like it was 3.
I felt like they tried to really stick to the facts but it didn't have that much of a dramatic impact. It was boring and little held my interest and this is a topic I am interested in. Some of the interludes of Omalu's personal life felt a little too long or unnecessary. I kind of wished the movie had layered in more of the football players' lives and their degenerating mental health as opposed to just a few scenes peppered in here or there. Maybe, even see some more of the NFL's denial of the seriousness of head injuries over the years. Even though the story is focused on the struggle of Dr. Omalu, exploring the NFL's denial and the players' realities more would have strengthened and added more depth to the movie as a whole - who is he fighting for? And, who/what is he fighting against? Even the racism and xenophobia that Dr. Omalu faced as an outsider taking down the USA's favorite sport was mostly just flat out stated. Basically, the script needed a very deft hand to weave it all together in an informative, real, and compelling way.
Some of the acting was a little wonky. Will Smith is poorly cast as Dr. Omalu. Smith's accent ended up more as a stereotypical generic African accent. Other than the accent issues, his acting was fine in the role (and the Academy has not only nominated but has given Oscars to worse) but, and I put this in part on the director, I hated how leaky-eyed and lifeless Omalu was portrayed.
Last season, when football kicked off, PBS simultaneously ran a documentary about CTE called "League of Denial." I highly recommend it. It was much more informative and interesting than this movie.