Draft Day (2014) - Ivan Reitman

Merely days before the NFL Draft, Sonny Weaver, the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns, trades for the number one overall pick, intent on saving football in Cleveland and bringing a championship to the city.   Facing an owner who is adamant about getting the top QB prospect, Sonny is torn between the pursuit of appeasing his owner thus keeping his job, and going after the prospect who he believes could actually succeed in the NFL.  Ivan Reitman's Draft Day is a by-the-numbers sports drama that plays it way too safe to be anything but adequate if unspectacular filmmaking.  Being the first film with the ability to use the actual team trademarks of the NFL, Draft Day looks a feels like the real deal, but unfortunately it lacks any real surprises, being a very safe, straightforward narrative the never takes any chances.  The football world is merely the setting of Draft Day, a film that is really about a man whose come to a professional and personal crossroads, faced with doing what he believes is right for the team, no matter what.  Draft Day is at its best when it is all about football minds, capturing the intimate and exhaustive process of pro scouting and the touch decisions that have to be made.  Unfortunately most of the human drama moments feel slight and uninteresting, most notably the unnecessary relationship subplot between Sonny Weaver and his cap specialist, Ali.  Overall, Draft Day is an adequate sports drama that relies heavily on Costner's likeability but when you really step back from the film, one can't help but realize how dull the whole narrative truly is.

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