But what if you don't like baseball films?!

Rating: 5/10 (4 February 2012)

I would sure think that "Moneyball" would have a very limited international appeal--especially in countries where they don't have professional baseball. And, even in the States, I can't see this as being an easy sell if the audience member is not a fan of the sport. While I have enjoyed some ball films, I am not a huge fan of pro sports--so keep this in mind when I say how underwhelmed I was by the whole thing. Much of this also is because the film has been nominated for six Academy Awards--one for Best Picture, one for Best Actor and one for Best Supporting Actor. So, I expected a lot and the film seemed to deliver less.
This film is based on the real life general manager of the Oakland A's back in the early 2000s. He came up with a statistical system by which he was able to replace big-money free agents with lesser players and STILL win--all by applying a lot of statistical analyses. For fans of fantasy baseball, this will be of some interest. As for me, I just didn't care--mostly because with the huge salaries, teams that move at the drop of a hat and various scandals, pro sports lost me as a fan long ago--and I just didn't care who won or lost. Now IF Brad Pitt's character had seemed like a particularly compelling person, I might have cared...but he didn't.
Overall, unless you are a big sports film fan, don't see the film or at least significantly lower your expectations. Pitt's and Jonah Hill's performances weren't bad...but both have done better work.