Draft Day (2014) Movie Review

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Draft Day – ABC Film Challenge – Favourites -D – Draft Day – Movie Review

Director: Ivan Reitman

Writer: Scott Rothman, Rajiv Joseph (Screenplay)

Cast

Kevin Costner (Let Him Go)
Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther)
Jennifer Garner (Love, Simon)
Frank Langella (The Box)
Chi McBride (Gone in Sixty Seconds)

Plot: At the NFL Draft, General Manager Sonny Weaver has the opportunity to rebuild his team when he trades for the number one pick. He must decide what he’s willing to sacrifice on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with NFL dreams.

Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Draft Day starts when General Manager of the Cleveland Browns Sonny Weaver Jr (Costner) is preparing for the most important day of the season, Draft Day. He receives calls from rival General Managers as they are searching for the best outcome in the draft.

As the day starts to unfold Sonny must deal with his Coach Penn (Leary). As well as young players being touted by their agents, to make matters worse he must answer to the franchise owner Anthony Molina (Langella).

Verdict on Draft Day

Draft Day is a sports drama revolving around a General Manager and his decisions around the busiest day of the season. He must deal with his own personal problems, and pressure from other members of the franchise. This leads to him needing to make the right decision for his team if they are going to win a super bowl.

As for sports drama, this is a tense thriller revolving around the busiest day in NFL. It shows the complex dealings between the managers as they search for the best outcome for the team. This continues to show the complex nature of American Football, where players get picked in a draft, rather than trained throughout an academy. Something I still personally find confusing, after years of watching football in England.

Kevin Costner is brilliant in the leading role and with an outstanding supporting cast. We end up getting one of the best cast movies of the year. This also gets to give a glimpse behind the curtain like ‘Moneyball’ did for Baseball.

Final Thoughts – Draft Day is a wonderfully acted sports thriller.