the base-balling 'Rocky' this is not.

Rating: 7/10 (9 January 2012)

For what has been hailed such a great sports movie I'd have to object. Yes the film is good, but it is overly long, plays on Americanisms (baseball) and really does lack the subject to entertain thoroughly.
Brad Pitt is very good in arguably this one dimensional role, as likable ex-player and now GM Billy Bean. He hires a statistician, computer geek (Jonah Hill) to help him rebuild the Oakland Athletics baseball team, on a tiny budget (to compete in Major League Baseball). Based on and telling a real story adds to it's impact, but the base-balling 'Rocky' this is not.
The script and cast although tight, arguably fails to entertain and some of it's scenes are too basic, light and almost over-thought to create added effect or realism. It really strikes out for me in a few key areas, and it's US backed hype will soil opinion of it's following European counterparts.
So, a good film lies beneath this very American based tale, if you can bare the 2 hours and watery content which tells the tale of a sporting underdog.