Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Draft Day’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​If there is one statement, I think I can safely say rings true when it comes to motion pictures, it is the fact that sports movies are extremely hard to make. After all, when someone decides they want to make a movie about a particular sport, they have to figure out how to make it feel compelling and unpredictable, to have it match its real-life counterpart. 

That's a tall order since everything in cinema is so perfectly planned, but there are sports films out there that find lightning in a bottle and bring about either a unique look at the game or find a way to inspire us through and through. And recently I finally had the chance to enjoy one of those unique sports flicks, one that takes us behind the scenes of one of the NFL's biggest events of the year, Draft Day. 

Sonny Weaver Jr., the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns, has been presented with a unique opportunity. He has the chance to draft a franchise quarterback for his squad and change the direction of his team now that he has secured the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft by way of a trade. But the pick comes at a great cost and his decision to pull the trigger on this trade proves to be unpopular and divisive amongst his staff. It leaves Sonny in a tough place, since he is also not 100% sold on the man who could and should be the top draft pick. But there is little time for him to decide on who should join his franchise, for today is Draft Day in the NFL and it won’t be long before his beloved Browns are on the clock.

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This is one of those films that quite frankly flew under the radar for me since I missed it in theaters, and I am quite disappointed that I didn't see it sooner, because it's actually a decent motion picture. I mean hey, you have Kevin Costner in the lead role, and he's basically a sports hero in cinema and he is directed in this flick by comedy legend Ivan Reitman and the combination of these two and a quality script makes for a compelling story, one that educates football fans and non-football fans alike on some of the parts of football many know nothing about. In fact, this is probably as close as any of us will get when it comes to an inside look at the day-to-day duties of a General Manager in the league, but for those who don't think that would be quite interesting enough, don't worry, the movie has plenty more to offer. 

Because at its core, Draft Day also brings forth plenty of the quality elements we love in a sports movie. There is the human side, especially when it comes to the players who want Sonny to choose them, so they can be a part of the Cleveland Browns, and the storylines that come from the people surrounding Sonny, who want nothing more than to see the team win and win big are equally as fascinating. All of these elements make for a solid movie, one that moves at a wonderfully brisk pace, and it even manages to keep the tension rolling as the big moment arrives for the Browns since you are also dying to know who Sonny will choose with the number one overall pick. 

I don't want to say much more than that, simply because the script is so intricate that spoilers would sour this review. Just know that this is a tight knit film where everything is resolved in proper fashion. Either way, if you get a chance, check this one out. To not only get an inside look at the NFL in ways I've never seen before on film, but more importantly to enjoy a fine little story about men and women who simply want to do great things, and there's nothing wrong with seeing a story that features people driving to achieve something wonderful.

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