"I firmly believe that any man’s finest hours – his greatest fulfilment of all that he holds dear – is that moment when he has worked his heart out in good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.”
- Vince Lombardi
This 1999 Oliver Stone film is set around a Pro football team called the Miami Sharks. As an avid NFL fan I appreciate the detail throughout this picture. Starring Al Pacino as Tony D'Amato the coach of the sharks. Pacino really shows the weight he is carrying as a coach with an old time philosophy. You can see his anxiety as he watches the whole game changing around him. As we have come to expect from Pacino he is flawless as the quintessential coach. He has some super lines and the monologue in the dressing room towards the end of the movie stands up to any other roles. Another stand out performance is Dennis Quaid, he plays ageing quarter back Jack Rooney. Who is feeling the heat due to a young pretender in Jamie Foxx as Willie Beamen. Willie Beamen is a complex character and Foxx nailed the part. He was magnificent. He played the part to perfection and arguably out shined Pacino at times. Jamie Foxx can be very hit and miss in my opinion but he is on good form here (it would not surprise me if he played ball). The list of great performances goes on and on. Cameron Diaz as the owner running the franchise for profit, James Woods as the sleazy physio, John C. McGinley a sports reporter, LL Cool J as the 'Merc' free agent and Aaron Eckhart as the offencive coordinator hungry for the lead role. A powerful screenplay and superb soundtrack help to keep the films pace. We follow the team as they try to make the playoffs. There have been several good football films, but none have covered off the field events as well as this, while still matching on field action. This film is definitely worth its running time (157). As with all Oliver Stone pics the cinematography is well thought out and really sets the mood early on. It is very rare to find a great dramatic football movie but this is definitely one of only a few.
Overall, this is one of the greatest sports movies of all time and it is highly enjoyable. I recommend you watch this movie.
Always great before the SUPERBOWL
"Nobody blitz's like the Shark" Any Given Sunday gets 9 out of 10.
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