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11th April 2024
05:01pm BST
A sports drama from 2014 with an A-list cast has made it's way into the Netflix UK top ten for this week, and some people are saying it's better than Moneyball.
Draft Day tells the story of a general manager for a struggling pro football team who risks his job and relationship by attempting to pull off a critical deal during the annual NFL draft.
Kevin Costner plays Sonny Weaver Jr, general manager of the Cleveland Browns, and is joined in the film by Jennifer Garner, the late Chadwick Boseman, Terry Crews, Sam Elliott and Frank Langella.
The synopsis for the film reads: "On the day of the NFL Draft, general manager Sonny Weaver Jr. (Costner) has the opportunity to save football in Cleveland when he trades for the number one pick. He must quickly decide what he's willing to sacrifice in pursuit of perfection as the lines between his personal and professional life become blurred on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with dreams of playing in the NFL."
On Rotten Tomatoes, Draft Day has an audience score of 65%, and a 'Tomatometer' score of 60%.
There are tons of great movies about sports: Rocky, Raging Bull, Friday Night Lights, Field of Dreams, but many would argue that Moneyball is the most comprehensive breakdown of how a club operates and how big money transfers are carried out.
Moneyball sees Brad Pitt star as real-life Oakland Athletic baseball team manager Billy Beane, who when faced with limited budget and resources, went full-stato and used data and metrics to make his player selections, as opposed to the gut instinct previously used by basically every manager in every sport.
was based on the non-fiction book by Michael Lewis (who also wrote The Big Short), and it weaves Beane’s story into a gripping thriller, bringing the seemingly dull baseball stats to life. Brad Pitt is supported by a cast that includes Jonah Hill, showing off his dramatic side in one of his first non-comedic roles, and the late, great Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The script was also co-written by Aaron Sorkin, of The West Wing and The Social Network fame.
Draft Day has a running time of 110 minutes.
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