Draft Day review: Kevin Costner returns in an appealing sports movie
KEVIN COSTNER has still got it, if his latest role in Draft Day is anything to go by
Draft Day
(15, 107mins)
Director: Ivan Reitman
Stars: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Chadwick Bozeman
Kevin Costner may be getting too old to swing a baseball bat but the actor returns to one of his most successful genres - the sports movie - playing the manager of an American football team in Draft Day and the results are a pleasing reminder of his easy charm and effortless sincerity.
The film might befuddle British viewers, at least early on until the mechanics of “draft day” become clear.
It’s the occasion when American football teams make their selections from a pool of the country’s hottest college football talent, a fraught, time-sensitive process involving bartering, bargaining and - the focus here - high-wire judgement calls about character and talent.
DRAFT DAY - Official Theatrical TRAILER [HD] - 2014
Costner’s the manager of the Cleveland Browns and is struggling to revive the team with a hungry owner breathing down his neck (Frank Langella) and a girlfriend/colleague (Jennifer Garner) who has just announced herself pregnant.
Can he make the right picks?
Doing so depends on wily wheeler-dealing, shrewd character guesswork and some proper detective-style digging. Is the agreed number one prospect, cocky Bo Callahan (Josh Pence) as good as he’s cracked up to be?
Directed by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) it’s not the most cinematic story, with much of the action confined to back rooms and telephone calls but anchored around a solid turn from Costner it’s an appealing drama for sports fans.
