Any Given Sunday

The Gist: A legendary quarterback suffers a career ending hit and is replaced by an unassuming younger player who shocks everyone with his athletic prowess. His growing ego will have to be kept in check by an aging coach who starts to feel like the game has evolved beyond him. In the meantime, the new team owner, a woman, is putting an incredible amount of pressure on coach and players to deliver on the field because she needs to prove herself in a male dominated world.

Oliver Stone directed Any Given Sunday with the same tenacity and verve he put into directing his war movies. After all, it's not that hard to draw a parallel between soldiers in the battlefield and football players fighting each other with the most extreme displays of violence. It might not be a matter of life or death, but the stakes are certainly as high as they get.

The cast does a very good job, with top billing going to Al Pacino, Dennis Quaid, Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, James Woods, and LL Cool J.

The Bottom Line: If you don't like sports movies you might want to pass on this one, but otherwise don't miss it. It features a good plot, it's well directed, the acting is good, and the action and intrigue keep you on edge the whole time.

Grade: 8