American Underdog is a biopic fashioned in the same thread as Rudy (1993), a Sean Astin vehicle with an iconic score by Jerry Goldsmith. Rudy is undeniable sentimental but an arousing film about the underdog that reduced many grown men to cry. American Underdog aims in the same direction, but swerves by distractions and weaker focus.
On the surface, the film has recipes for a good film -- high production value and two Hollywood leads, Zachary Levi and Holly Hu... I mean Anna Paquin. But the story is just too watered down and spends much of its svelte 112 minutes running time on the relationship. It helps that Levi and Paquin embody their roles with precision, but they are not given much to work with.
Made by Christian filmmakers, Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin, the film looks very competent. Football scenes are well choreographed and everything looks authentic. Their screenplay is aided by a veteran sports screenplay writer David Aaron Cohen of Friday Night Lights TV series. But it plays too safe, as to avoid offending non-Christians and Christians audiences alike. American Underdog is as Christian as Amy Grant's Heart in Motion.
Despite the tagline, "life made him an underdog", the story doesn't convincingly paint his struggles, beyond to-be-expected insurmountable odds that every athletes face. And in regards to the second tag line "faith made him a champion", I recall only one or two very quickie scenes.
After wrapping up the story of Kurt and Brenda, American Underdog never quite returns to its initial trajectory. The last 30 minutes of the film speeds up with recreation of Kurt's first year as an NFL player. But that never quite adds up to anything substantial. In the end, this film is a romance film at heart that showcases how nice of a guy Kurt Warner is.
Review by Snowy_CapHaddockBlockedParentSpoilers2022-02-05T02:13:12Z
Nice sport movie, simple, straight, inspirational