SummaryAmerican Underdog tells the inspirational true story of Kurt Warner (Zachary Levi), who went from a stockboy at a grocery store to a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and Hall of Fame quarterback. The film centers on Warner’s unique story and years of challenges and setbacks that could have derailed his aspirations to become an NFL ...
SummaryAmerican Underdog tells the inspirational true story of Kurt Warner (Zachary Levi), who went from a stockboy at a grocery store to a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and Hall of Fame quarterback. The film centers on Warner’s unique story and years of challenges and setbacks that could have derailed his aspirations to become an NFL ...
The beauty of Kurt Warner’s story is that it’s so unlikely it’s nearly impervious to clichés. The strength of American Underdog, Andrew and Jon Erwin’s film about Warner’s life in football and with his wife, Brenda, is that they realize this and let the story speak for itself.
This may be the best film I have seen this year. A film that is good for viewing multiple times for the many great moments and a soundtrack that delivers in those moments. Zach Levi delivers a heartwarming film in the Inspirational True Story category; telling the story of Kurt Warner's rise to football glory in the Rams Super Bowl win.
The directing duo the Erwin Brothers directed a proverbial movie touchdown, complete with blue anamorphic lens flares (shot on anamorphic). I also liked their other inspirational sports film titled Woodlawn with the star of Rudy, Sean Astin.
American Underdog is the hero's journey of football, to go from grocery store bagger after graduating college to NFL MVP. The portrayal of Hyvee supermarket was accurate, I can attest from living in Iowa. I can imagine Kurt Warner throwing a supermarket item for a superbowl touchdown. What a treat his co-workers must have had to see him toss things on the shelf, of course gently. Practice makes perfect as they say. What's incredible is that this story is all true. As The Great Han Solo would say "It's true, All of it."
The casting of characters was terrific! There are many standouts, the blind son is one of them in an absolutely brilliant performance! Also very good were a couple standout scenes where a character may be facing difficulty and looking for mentorship, and the scene where Kurt throws an interception and the Coach Mike Martz portrayed by Chance Kelly delivers in my opinion the performance of a lifetime. The coach gets on the phone and tells Kurt that he knows he was ready to be quarterback, and he pushed him and challenged him because he had to know. And he said "you are ready".
A nice touch to the film is the directors also mixed in some real video at the end of the Super Bowl win, and Kurt Warner's NFL Hall of Fame induction where Kurt points up with both hands and says "Thankyou Jesus." I give it 10 out of 10 stars, a very moving film.
Critics on here are once again, useless. My name is ____ , I insert my ideologies into everything. I'm incapable of reviewing from a neutral stand point. Did that woman just say God? The nerve!
Just like all legacy media, legacy media reviews can screw off. Watch this movie if you like sports. Watch this movie.
The problem, though, is that American Underdog doesn't ever really connect the modest virtuousness of Kurt and Brenda to Kurt's ascension as a quarterback.
Like so many of the faith-based biopics that have helped turn the genre into a flyover-state phenomenon, American Underdog is sustained by a vaguely fetishistic enthusiasm for its subject’s hardships.
While Levi gives you someone to genuinely root for, once the movie reaches Warner’s debut game for the Rams in 1999, all nuance goes out the window as you’re pounded into semi-hysterical submission to cheer for a proverbial win for the gipper.
American Underdog is a film so disjointed, so boring and so deeply uninspiring that it is difficult to root for anyone, or even think of Warner as a genuine underdog.
It’s a great story to make into a movie. The acting is great. The problem with the movie, though, is that there is more emphasis on the romance than on football, which disappointed me. It felt rushed at the end when they showed lots of the week 1 game but only about 2 minutes of the super bowl.
A narrative resource used ad nauseam, but who can refuse? Because who doesn't love an underdog? Especially when his story is real. I'll be clear, there's nothing special here. Not at all, but I found it competent within its own modesty. Of course I think this story will perhaps resonate more in the U.S. and with fans of the sport this story revolves around, but as far as it goes, even with its more than notable flaws, it accomplishes what it sets out to do and I have to give it credit for that transparency.
This was secretly a Christian movie. I like to know what I'm getting into. The quarterback plays a tough game, and his hair is still perfect, not a drop of sweat on him, never once out of breath in the entire movie. The daughter is invisible, with all the movie's attention directed to the son. They took a good story and made a cringe-worthy movie full of cliches, traditional gender roles, and utterly fake characters, which is ironic considering it based on a true story. Perhaps worst of all is not a single curse word. Football players don't talk trash at all. "Go get 'em, Tiger" is the kind of dialog throughout this movie.