zkonedog Sometimes, movies are made where the sole purpose is to provide a vehicle for its stars or producers to bigger and better things. These "vehicle flicks" can, from time to time, be well- made, but most of the time they are shallow and focus on all the wrong things. That is a very apt description of "Any Given Sunday".For a basic plot summary, "Sunday" focuses on the Sharks, a pro football team coach by "Al Pacino". When star quarterback "Dennis Quaid" goes down with an injury, third-stringer "Jamie Foxx" must step in and lead the team to the playoffs, all the while trying to be competitive so that owner "Cameron Diaz" can leverage the city for more money on a stadium deal.Unless you are hopped up on Red Bull or steroids, this movie is pretty much an incoherent mess. It has no discernible plot, completely cardboard-cutout characters, and every single scene is punctuated by loud, driving, rock/rap music that essentially makes this experience feel like a 2.5 hour music video.Instead, this is strictly a vehicle for these purposes: -Getting Diaz in a few more sexy evening gowns -Showcasing Foxx as "leading man" material -Letting director Oliver Stone screw around for 150 minutes and throw theme after theme in our face while developing none of them -LL Cool J showing he can "act" as well as rap.The ONLY bright spot of this experience is the epic speech given by Pacino's character before the film's climax. Surrounded by utter dreck on both sides, that speech will (if only for a few minutes) get you fired up about something.Other than that, though, "Any Given Sunday" is a total mess. The inclusion of James Woods (perhaps the single worst/most annoying actor of his time) almost seems fitting for such a stinker. If you are a pigskin fan who wanted to enjoy this one, I suggest you do so in the middle of a roid rage or other crazy emotional moment. At any normal time, this is 2.5 hours of time utterly wasted.

LeonLouisRicci It's Hard to Score with a Sports Movie. It is the Most Difficult of Genres. Realism is the Biggest Obstacle to Overcome. Audience Members who have Played the Sport will be on the Lookout for Cheating and a Lack of Verisimilitude. Fans of the Game will be Expecting the Kind of Rush that the Game on the Screen Gives Them Watching Real-Life Sporting Events. It is Virtually Impossible to Have a Sports Movie that Avoids Clichés because in Reality the Thing that Makes Sports so Much Fun to Watch are Clichés (4th quarter, seconds left, 4th down, goal to go, down by 5......bottom of the 9th, bases loaded, 2 outs, 3 and 2 count, down by 3...and so on).So How does Director Oliver Stone, a Filmmaker who Loves to do things that are Cutting Edge, Over the Top, and Different, Deal with All of that? He doesn't, that's what He does. The Always Controversial Curmudgeon, Stone Decides to Embrace the Clichés, Wallow in them, Celebrate the Clichés, Putting it All there for All to See, and He says See, "That is Football". It's No Mistake, that Quote is from the Director Himself, Playing a TV Announcer. As the Commentator He Also Includes a Nod to Sports Aphorisms, "Here's where the proverbial rubber meets the proverbial road".This is a Sports Movie that is an Oliver Stone Movie that is High Entertainment, Amped Up, OK, Performance Enhanced (couldn't resist), and In Your Face just like the Game of Football. With the Advent of Cameras on Wires, and Cameras in Blimps, and Helmet Cameras, the Medium has Become the Message and the Director is, No Doubt a Fan of Football (and Marshall Mcluhan).The Cast is Superb and the Sport of Football in the Movie is Played by Real Football Players, or at Least Actors who have Athletic Ability. Recommended for Football Fans, and the Parallels Between the Game Itself and the Movie Game Portrayed, Make for Good Teammates.

ramsfan I both played and coached football and have been around the game for 30 years. On an entertainment level, Any Given Sunday is somewhat effective, but the comments from people lauding this movie's "realism" are laughable. Any Given Sunday is anything but realistic and is instead marred by questionable casting, over the top performances and an uneven script. AGS doesn't quite know what it wants to be: it touches on some relevant areas of the game including risking health for money, the business side of football and the importance of the team concept, but ultimately the movie isn't effective because the viewer fails to take a personal interest in many of these guys. They are instead merely cardboard characters used to advance the plot. What results is a disjointed, uneven film with more misses than hits.The plot is simple enough. Veteran coach Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino) has been successful for most of his 30 year run. However, his team falls on hard times and questions arise about his ability to lead. When his veteran QB gets hurt, untested backup Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx) steps into the breach and starts to win. He lets success go to his head, however, and quickly alienates his teammates with a selfish, me-first attitude. Eventually, he realizes he must lead by example and not just through physical play. Beamen redeems himself and saves his season.Despite a host of name actors involved with Any Given Sunday, it is not well cast. I absolutely love Al Pacino- a truly great actor with scores of awards (including an Oscar) for validation, but he does NOT make a convincing football coach. Compare his role for instance with that of James Gammon as manager Lou Brown in the lightweight comedy Major League. Gammon looks, acts and speaks like a grizzled managerial veteran- a GREAT job of casting. Only Pacino's tremendous skills as an actor prevent this from being a disaster. Ironically, the unquestioned best scene in the movie is Pacino's locker room speech, an inspiring, passionate speech touching on the virtues of self-reflection and togetherness- it elicits both a tear from the eye and a fire from within. Unfortunately, this is the exception.Cameron Diaz, despite being a qualified actress, is not convincing as the owner of a professional sports franchise and strains credibility. It's revealed that she inherited the team from her football-minded father, but it plays flat. Many of the football stars are caricatures; when ex-Giant great Lawrence Taylor looks like Sir Laurence Olivier compared to some of these clowns, you know there's a problem. And perhaps the worst performance of all belongs to John C. McGinley who hams it up and evokes images of a crazed Jim Rome as a slimy sports talk show host.Oliver Stone is completely out of his element with Any Given Sunday. And any movie with Al Pacino, Charlton Heston, James Woods, Matthew Modine, Jim Brown, Cameron Diaz, James Karen and a host of other A-list performers should've been a helluva lot better.

midgetalan With an all-star cast it's very difficult to pick fault with this movie. My only gripe was the odd "pat on the back" style lines that slipped in here and there, motivational war speeches after seeing the light etc but they certainly don't detract from what is an epic movie. The odd corny line here and there is almost unmeasurable in this 2hr40min marathon of high octane action and passionately acted masterpiece.Still find it hard to believe it was filmed in 1999!! Seems like it was just released this year every time I watch it (5 times now). Each character is integral to his or her own part and you're never left wondering why they had a part in the first place. Whether it's Pacino's lead role on film or Lauren Holly's minor character of Quaid's "Cap Rooney" wife.....they all have fantastic screen presence and have you relating to them straight away. Life and death struggles was a bit of an overstated tag line, but certainly you start to bond and feel every painful emotion and physical blow the team (Miami Sharks) endure.I personally haven't felt an emotional football or even sports movie like this since All The Right Moves back in the early 80's with Tom Cruise. From Pacino and Foxx down to minor coaching cameo actors, they all have 3 dimensional roles. This movie could've easily have been over 3 hours long and it would still be over too quick. I only wish that Oliver Stone would direct a hockey epic like this instead of the comedy mishaps we always get like Slap Shot, Youngblood and Goon!! A solid 8/10 for a film that brings out some of the best performances from Pacino, Quaid & James Woods. Foxx is brilliant in making you feel compassion early on for his character to feeling utter disdain and contempt as his alter-ego grows and grows and loses touch with why he started playing football in the first place.