I didn’t expect much when it came to this movie. I thought that it was going to be just a many-times-before-seen inspirational sports drama. They kind of have a formula to them a this point and it’s already getting kind of boring. You have a team that’s playing badly, they get this new coach, they struggle to adapt in a couple of games but in the end they win the championship or qualify for the playoffs. Sure, you get that here and it would be nice to see if this wasn’t one of the many movies of its kind.
Now, you’re probably thinking at this point, oh, he’s going to give this movie a bad grade. Well, don’t worry, here come the positives of this movie and there are a lot of them. This movie really plays with your emotions. At one point this movie is an inspirational, get-you-in-a-good-mood kind of movie. But then the drama starts AND! IT! HITS! HARD!
The best part of this movie, without a doubt, is Ben Affleck. This is easily one of his best and might actually be his best performance in a movie so far and he had a lot of really good ones over the years. He’s basing this performance on his real-life struggles. His grandmother, aunt and father had alcoholism and depression issues and eventually Ben Affleck himself. And this is why his performance in this movie was so strong and believable.
Through the middle of the movie, you’re thinking, yaaay, the team is playing well, he’s alcohol free and he’s happy again but then all of a sudden tragedy strikes and he becomes such a mess, he falls so deep into depression and drinking, more than ever before and it left me wondering if he is ever going to recover and I respect this movie for that.
I’m gonna give this movie the same grade as I did for 21 bridges! 8,5/10*
