Top Five Football Movies of All Time

The NFL kicks off its football season this week, and we at The Movie Brothers are pumped! We’re huge football fans, and in honor all things great about football – from chili and beer, to chips and friends screaming and cheering on their favorite teams – we’ve brought you our Top Five Football Movies of All Time. And in case you were wondering what out favorite team is… LET’S GO BUFFALO BILLS!!!

5. Any Given Sunday
Oliver Stone can politicize anything, including football. But he did a very nice job with this film, shooting a fast-paced, sexy movie, combining it with a great cast headed by Al Pacino and Jamie Foxx. It looks at the money and madness that goes into football. Is it a tad overly dramatic? For sure. But it certainly is a great football movie. Oh, and Al Pacino’s awesome speech… fantastic.

4. Knute Rockne All American
This one has that iconic moment, where Ronald Regean, playing George Gipp, gives those famous words: “Win one for the Gipper.” This has classic football moments all over — Notre Dame, All-American Knute Rockne, and yes… old Ronny. And it definitely deserves a place on this list.

3. Jerry McGwire
Show me the money was a pretty awesome part of this flick, but the movie is so much more than the famous catch-phrase. It’s a movie that crossed over two genres with unbelievable success — romantic comedy and sports. But it works, big time. Even if your significant other isn’t a football lover, it’s a movie you’ll both enjoy. Great acting, humor, sharp writing and direction, and, of course, plenty of football.

2. Brian’s Song
Based on the real-life relationship between teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, this is a fantastic movie that shows the bond established by two men competing for the same job. They broke boundaries as roommates, teammates, and inspired people by their strength of friendship when Piccolo discovers that he is dying. It’s a great movie, and definitely deserving to be called one of the greatest football movies every.

1. Rudy
You have to have a heart made of iron not to love this story. It’s the ultimate tale of the little guy who works harder than anyone and finally gets a shot at his dream. It’s a bitter-sweet moment when he does, but it’s a great movie, and a believable, earnest performance by Sean Astin, with strong support by Ned Beatty and Jon Favreau. This was the first movie that jumped out at us as the best football movie. If you’ve never seen, it’s definitely worth a watch.

Legion

An out-of-the-way diner becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race. When God loses faith in humankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring the Apocalypse. Humanity’s only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner with the Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany). Directed by Scott Stewart, a first-time filmmaker better know for his visual effects work in movies like “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and “Night at the Museum” and “Iron Man.”

Matt
Rating: 4 out of 10

This movie has some great pieces in place. Personally, I like the idea of angels coming to wipe out mankind of behalf of God, whose had enough of our crap.

There are some really solid actor in this cast, too, like Dennis Quaid, Charles S. Dutton and Tyrese Gibson, who all gave a solid performances. Bettany plays Angel Michael well as a loyal-to-the-fault angel who is spurning God’s wishes and attempting to save humanity. He is, along with a group of others, protecting Charlie (Adrianne Palicki) who is pregnant. She’s not sure who the father is, smokes, and works at the diner where they all meet. She’s not particularly likable, but that’s not the goal. The goal is to protect this baby because it will save humanity from the apocalypse that is happening all around. Angels are possessing people, turning them into zombie-like creatures that kill people.

The problem this movie has is it never answers anything. I don’t mind being left with questions. Good movies often do. But everything about this was vague. We don’t know why the baby has to live. When that’s the focus of the film, you should probably give the audience a clue. The film also doesn’t know what it wants to be — a zombie flick, or a religious epic. It’s not all that scary, either. The films visuals and effects are excellent. It’s writing, not so much.