“Backfield emotion” is how one waggish New York film critic characterized this bland, predictable bio-pic about an African-American football star challenging racist assumptions in an era prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Rob Brown is earnestness and likeability personified as Ernie Davis, who hopes that he has left his poverty-stricken background behind after he succeeds Jim Brown as the star running back of Syracuse University's football team in 1959. Supported by his loving grandfather (Charles S. Dutton) and inspired by baseball legend Jackie Robinson, Ernie perseveres in the face of daunting obstacles, winning the respect of his coach (Dennis Quaid in crusty-but-lovable mode), his teammates, and even bigoted referees. Unfortunately, the situations are hackneyed, the dialogue corny, and the football sequences—shot with a lot of slo-mo—interminable. Moreover, the characterizations are perfunctory at best, including Ernie's barely registering girlfriend (Nicole Beharie). Davis eventually becomes the first black player to win the coveted Heisman Trophy, but that doesn't mean you haven't essentially seen this film a dozen or so times. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Gary Fleder, a 14-minute “making-of” featurette, a “Making History: The Story of Ernie Davis” background featurette (13 min.), eight minutes of deleted scenes, “Inside the Playbook: Shooting the Football Games” (7 min.), “From Hollywood to Syracuse: The Legacy of Ernie Davis” (5 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are the “50th Anniversary of the 1959 Syracuse National Championship” featurette (16 min.) and the BD Live function. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a formulaic sports biopic.] (E. Hulse)
The Express
Universal, 130 min., PG, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $39.98, Jan. 20 Volume 24, Issue 1
The Express
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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