Erratic and Gripping
Rating: 10 of 10 
The game of football may not be my favorite game, but Oliver Stone succeeds in telling a not so original story in a compelling and ingenious way. Oliver Stone wouldn't be Oliver Stone if he didn't make comments on society, and the way in which he comments the game by visuals, sound, music and direction is both revealing and disturbing. We do not see an American stadium in Miami, it looks rather like a Roman collosseum. We do not see football players but gladiators or even warriors. The music playing is rather reminiscent of a tribal ritual, the trainer is rather an army commander or warlord. It is no game but a battle, and the parties and celebrations have something demonic; the most disturbing of all but are the frequent allusions to war.
Throughout the film, the characters slowly get a face and a cause, Al Pacino delivering a stunning and utmost devoted performance. The message of team spirit above egotism isn't new, but it is told in a gripping way. All in all, the film might be a bit strenuous, but it is a stunning ride.
Restless is the game, restless the movie has to be. Oliver Stone's direction masterly creates a moving collage of a film, the only moment of relative rest and waiting is the moment the football is spinning in the air, waiting to hit the Earth. No scene is simply a scene, simply one camera angle - the pictures are shifting, interlacing, moving, interspersed with other pictures from other scenes, anything happening anytime. I didn't know Stone was the director when I went to the cinema, but when his name appeared at the end of the movie, I understood that perhaps no other could have undertaken such a project. In terms of direction, this has to count amongst the most inventive approaches yet.
March 14th, 2000
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