Review of Draft Day (2014) by Chevymac — 13 May 2014

Vontae Mack is certain. Very certain. He knows where he should be in today's NFL Draft - and he is insistent in telling Brown's GM Sonny Weaver exactly how the team's pick should go down. But, as insistent as Vontae is, Sonny must listen to numerous voices today telling him exactly the same thing.

Draft Day is all about positioning - Weaver trying to place the Browns in the best position to win in the future; the Seattle Seahawks GM, Tom Michaels, trying to leverage their Number One pick for a better shot at the future; and, among others, team owner Anthony Molina pressuring Weaver to mike the "right" decision.

A lot of folks believe movies are all about the stars, the directors, the producers, and/or the producers. I've always believed a movie should be about the story. This story is pretty good - but, it isn't great.

The characters, for the most part, work really well together. Sonny Weaver (Kevin Costner) is very believable. He carries all the emotional baggage he should for what he does. He's a man on a tightrope, and one misstep will send him into the abyss, and for a few moments, here - we believe he will fall. And we don't want him to. The antagonist - owner, Anthony Molina (Frank Langella), is perfect in his role; especially in his reaction to the Brown's first selection. The main football character is Vontae Mack (Chadwick Boseman) who gets the biggest surprise of his life - because he was true; and because he was right. You'll want to cheer for him at the appropriate moment.

The character who doesn't fit is Ali (Jennifer Garner). Ali is never quite believable as a real part of this story. Part of this is due to the poor writing of her part, and the rest is because the lovely Garner is just not the right casting for this character. She's smart and pretty, but just doesn't come across as the tough, football junkie she claims to be. That's where this whole story breaks down.

Nevertheless, the movie is a good watch. You'll enjoy the characters, as well as the action (negotiations) as they play out through the storyline.

Go see this movie. Pay attention to the way Costner plays to his strengths; catch the power of Boseman's intensity (we need to see more of this guy!); enjoy Dennis Leary being, well, Dennis Leary; and ignore the ladies in this movie - they are there for window dressing; and that's too bad. The treatment of the womens' roles keeps this from being a great movie.