Any Given Sunday (Special Director's Cut) (Wide Screen) > Reviews

Advantages: Well filmed with tight plot and good performances - plenty of DVD extras too
Disadvantages: Subject matter might not appeal to all

...the box! I reasoned that any film featuring Al Pacino, James Woods, Charlton Heston, Dennis Quaid, Matthew Modine and the delights of Cameron Diaz had to be pretty good, even though American Football held no particular attraction for me – and I wasn’t disappointed! The story centres on several figures, all of whom are involved with the Miami Sharks gridiron team: Pacino plays Tony D’Amato who has been head coach since time immemorial, ... Read review

Advantages: Storming cinematography, strong pace, great acting
Disadvantages: might not like it as its about American Football, script a littel lacking compared to the other parts of the film

I was actually on holiday in Thailand when this first came out, there had been very little publicity in the UK so I hadn't heard anything about it. I saw that some of my favourite actors were involved, Pacino, Woods, Modine and it was about American Football so I thought why not. Was I disappointed ? No way. Al Pacino is the intense and stressed out coach of this fictional Miami team. He's got the character nailed to a T as the divorced, old school ... Read review

Advantages: Al Pacino
Disadvantages: Too long; dubious soundtrack

...Quaid. *** What was wrong with Any Given Sunday? *** At 150 minutes, it’s too long. I think that it would have been possible to make a great movie with about 30 minutes lopped off it. The soundtrack. To start with, it works well, tracks from people like Gary Glitter, Moby and FatBoy Slim complement the football action. But there are simply too many songs, most of which serve no real purpose – except perhaps to foster the audience’s ... Read review

Advantages: Too much to list down here!
Disadvantages: Pretty violent, typical oliver stone style!

UPDATED 18/01/01: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With Any Given Sunday, Oliver Stone has created the most hard-hitting, top-notch film about sports in recent years, with stylish direction and great performances all around. A movie with such versatile qualities, even for those who don't like sports, will take them on a high speed ride. The prominent director decided to use the same style as he used in his previous, underappreciated films like Natural Born ... Read review

Advantages: Good football sequences.
Disadvantages: Only the men seem to be filled with any kind of dimensions.

A mish-mash of three acts, this is an unsatisfying film. The universal theme of this film seems to be about the young taking over from the old. This is emphasised by the clashing of the new young female owner Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz) of the fictional Miami Sharks versus the older current manager Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino)and the other rivalry between a hot up-and-coming star Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx) who is threatening the fast-fading quarterback ... Read review

Advantages: Al Pacino - another great performance
Disadvantages: Stereotyped characters

...an important issue. In Any given sunday it appears that the central issue is the racial inequality in American football, with the majority of players being black, but the game controlled by white coaches and team owners. So to the story... the film casts Al Pacino as the weary 'over-the-hill' coach who is stereotypically cranky and stuck in the past until the predictably he sees the light. Whilst the role is perhaps a little constricting for an ... Read review

Advantages: Breath-taking photography, kicking soundtrack and brilliant plot twist
Disadvantages: Possibly too technical for some

"Any Given Sunday" is Oliver Stone's dipiction of the hard-hitting world of american football starring Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, James Woods, Jamie Foxx and Dennis Quaid, just to name a few of the all-star cast. The film follows the fortunes of the Miami Sharks through the last few months of a very tough season. After losing their star quarter-back Jack "cap" Rooney (Quaid) and also second choice quarter-back in the same game, coach Tony D'Amato entrusts ... Read review

Advantages: Strong performances, excellent musical accompaniment,Highly engrossing
Disadvantages: Predictable, and sometimes ponderous narrative,Subject matter may put some people off

...cast with considerable depth. Was it any good? ---------------- I thoroughly enjoyed it although its length might annoy people who prefer greater action. At no point did my interest tail off, and I was captivated by a film which was well-produced,well-directed and well acted. It failed to garner as much box-office success as I think it deserved but is certainly a better film on an American football related theme than last year's 'The Hurricane'.All ... Read review

Advantages: true emotive brilliance and close up action, feelings are immense
Disadvantages: none

"On any given sunday, a legend will fall, and on any given sunday, a hero will rise." The very phrase that really made the trailer stand out from any others that were there, and is simply enough to give you a whole idea of what the film is about, and where it is going. This is one amazing film, and although i am not american myself, i still find that it is one of the best. A great line up of actors and actresses, hold the fort in this masterpiece ... Read review

Advantages: good action, moderate acting
Disadvantages: for NFL fans only.

...my part I greatly enjoyed any given sunday, but is it for everyone? I dont think so,Pacino's acting was not up to his usual good standard it seemed that all his role called for was for him to shout at lots of people, cameron diaz was o.k though. the rest of the supporting actors (James Woods, Dennis Quaid, LL Cool J) were very good considering that for most of them there role's involved little more than hitting people hard and being hit hard. The ... Read review

Advantages: Genius and Al Pacino
Disadvantages: No sequel

...of crisps. Of course, any movie with Al Pacino in it is going to be good. He had a huge influence on the movie as the representation of the ‘old’ NFL. Cameron Diaz makes a good job of playing the owner of the team. Dennis Quaid was typically good as the older player and LL Cool J was sparkling. The one problem with this movie is that the NFL did not endorse it, thus there was no appearance of some of the NFL’s big teams and their players. I don’t ... Read review

Advantages: Slick, edge-of-seat drama with great direction and acting.
Disadvantages: The usual subtlety of a sledgehammer from Stone.

Oliver Stone sets aside his conspiracy theories on war and politics and effectively shines a spotlight on a different kind of battlefield to come up with the most commerical and entertaining film of his career. Al Pacino heads an all-star cast (including Cameron Diaz, James Woods and Dennis Quaid - great to see him back in action after a decade of consistently AWFUL movies) as the battered, yet wise and resilient coach of a struggling Miami football ... Read review