Sony Pictures’ “Concussion” grossed an estimated $11M at the box office over its opening weekend, coming in sixth place during the busy Christmas period and “beating expectations” (L.A. TIMES, 12/28). The film starring Will Smith as Nigerian Dr. Bennet Omalu “who battles” the NFL, had an “O.K. debut for a serious drama that cost Sony, Village Roadshow and other partners just” $35M to make. Still, “’Concussion’ fell far behind other serious efforts” by Smith (N.Y. TIMES, 12/28). The movie scored a 60% ranking among critics with an audience score of 77%, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Heading into Christmas, tracking suggested the movie “would open in the high-teens, although Sony was much more conservative" in suggesting $8-10M (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 12/25). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote the "worst news for Concussion is that it didn’t fare a whole lot better" than NFL-backed "Draft Day," which earned $9.75M in its opening weekend in April '14 (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 12/27).
NOT A LEAGUE FAVORITE: In Philadelphia, Paul Domowitch wrote under the header, "NFL Hopes 'Concussion' Is Box Office Flop." The film "isn't a pro-NFL flick." It "removes the league's shoes and puts its feet over a hot fire." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league "are doing the smart thing." They are "keeping their mouths shut and their heads down and are going to wait out the storm." They are "saying absolutely nothing about the movie." No matter "how popular it turns out to be and no matter how much more criticism of the NFL it spawns, it will have little or no effect on the extraordinary popularity of the league or the game" (PHILLY.com, 12/24). In Phoenix, Mark Faller wrote NFL execs "certainly could not have been overjoyed that this movie will shine a bright light into the darkest corners of the league’s past, but they seemed upfront about accepting, even welcoming, that 'Concussion' will help continue the discussion." Faller: "I'll take them at their word" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/25).
MUST-SEE VIEWING: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Joe Morgenstern wrote the film is a "mainstream studio movie" for "worse and better." It is "worse because many of its faults and annoying banalities flow from the sort of clumsy script that afflicts many studio movies these days, and better precisely because the movie’s Hollywood provenance may bring its important subject to a mainstream audience." But the "great strength" of the film is Smith's performance as Omalu. Smith is "meticulous in his accent and grave in his demeanor," making Bennet "charmingly eccentric" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/24). In S.F., Mick LaSalle wrote under the header, "'Concussion' A Corny Treatment But A Surefire Story." Writer-director Peter Landesman has a "fascinating and appalling story to tell here, and that cuts through the layers of corniness." The film's presentation of the NFL, "not as the guardians of America's game, but as something almost akin to the tobacco industry, is unexpected and refreshing" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/24). USA TODAY's Brian Truitt wrote Smith's performance is his "most transformative." Landesman "raises headline-making questions about a favored pastime, yet the movie loses some of its potential by switching focus to Omalu’s personal life and away from the core matter." The cast is "a stellar one" (USA TODAY, 12/24). In Miami, Connie Ogle wrote if the film "doesn’t dramatically alter the way you view the game, you’re willfully refusing to pay attention." But the movie "leaves some vital and intriguing avenues unexplored." Landesman "does not let the NFL off the hook," but he "never bothers to explore the economic and racial components of the game and who plays it, nor does he explore our own responsibility as fans" (MIAMI HERALD, 12/24). In Newark, Stephen Whitty wrote despite the rumors, the film, all the way through the “stinging end titles,” does not let the NFL “off the hook” (NJ.com, 12/23).
SOLID EFFORT: THE MMQB’s Emily Kaplan noted the movie “bills itself as ‘the movie the NFL doesn’t want you to see,’” which is “not an outrageous claim.” The film is “intrinsically uncomfortable because it names names while assigning pathos to real-life figures,” including Goodell “who is played by an unconvincing” Luke Wilson (MMQB.SI.com, 12/24). ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's Leah Greenblatt gave the film a B+, noting that Landesman's "straightforward telling actually serves the strong cast and taut script -- and a story that would be deemed too outrageous to believe if it wasn’t true" (EW.com, 12/17).
NOT SO FAST: In Phoenix, Bill Goodykoontz wrote “Concussion” is a “confused film, one that can’t decide whether it wants to be a message movie about a hot-topic issue or a somewhat softer look at a man apart, fighting for what he believes in while falling in love.” Landesman “tries to settle for both, with mixed results.” The NFL “is depicted as a kind of all-powerful Mafia of sport.” Landesman uses Omalu’s relationship as a “distraction the movie doesn’t need.” Goodykoontz: “We’re already solidly in Omalu’s camp.” Smith’s performance, in which he “resists the urge to go over the top, and the subject matter make ‘Concussion’ an interesting movie, but not the urgent one it could have been” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/24). In DC, Stephanie Merry wrote the themes in “Concussion” "mirror those of another awards contender" -- “Spotlight.” But "Concussion" is a "little more heavy- handed, especially in its handling of the narrative of a put-upon immigrant losing faith in the American dream." That thread "only serves to overshadow a far more troubling story: one about the NFL’s stop-at-nothing smear campaign and how easily the public bought into it" (WASHINGTON POST 12/25).
COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER: ROLLING STONE’s Peter Travers wrote Smith “deserves highest of praise” for his portrayal of Omalu. The film is a “gripping story.” Landesman, who also wrote the script, “undercuts it with plodding pacing, endless shots of talking heads, a sermonizing tone, and wan interludes with Omalu and his wife, Parma.” The film also “goes slack when its screws most need to tighten.” It is “hardly mandatory pre-Super Bowl viewing for football junkies” (ROLLINGSTONE.com, 12/22). In Las Vegas, Christopher Lawrence noted while the NFL reportedly "was very concerned about the movie, its fears were largely overblown." The league "doesn't come off well by any means -- somewhere between clueless and criminal -- but 'Concussion' isn't nearly dramatic enough to incite outrage, or more importantly, calls for change" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 12/25). In San Jose, Daniel Brown wrote there “isn't much football” in the film. The game “tends to float in the background like secondhand smoke.” The movie “is at its most compelling when it focuses on the more complicated love story, the one between America and its dangerously violent sport” (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 12/24). In Chicago, Dann Gire wrote Landesman “squanders a potentially riveting drama inspiring outrage and awareness by adapting a muddled screenplay.” A romantic subplot “feels more obligatory than essential.” Smith’s "polished, selfless performance carries this film” (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 12/23).
LEAGUE LET OFF THE HOOK? The NEW REPUBLIC’s Will Leitch wrote the movie “isn’t angry enough for a polemic, and it isn’t interesting enough to be an uplifting Hollywood message movie, which means it’s just competent enough to fail on two separate, parallel fronts.” A scene where Omalu watches the “infamous ‘Jacked Up!’ segments, in which ESPN broadcasters openly cheered brain injuries,” is among the “most grotesque and powerful” in the film. The problem is that the movie “edges right up to the corner on this stuff and then scampers back to Omalu’s personal narrative, which is decidedly less compelling” (NEWREPUBLIC.com, 12/23). In N.Y., Manohla Dargis wrote the movie "lacks the exciting, committed filmmaking that rises to the level of its outrageous topic." The "greater problem is that the movie never gives Bennet a persuasive antagonist." The NFL, meanwhile, "remains a vague, largely anonymous presence, represented in one unintentionally comic scene by a gathering of unsmiling, corporate crypt keepers," and later by its new Commissioner Goodell (N.Y. TIMES, 12/25). In L.A., Kenneth Turan wrote a "key problem" is Landesman "pushed too hard to make this story fit into a dramatic mold, alternating melodrama and romance with those earnest warnings in a way that is more ungainly than effective" (L.A. TIMES, 12/25). The GLOBE & MAIL's Brad Wheeler wonders if the subject matter "couldn’t have been tackled with less sentimentality and heartfelt biography" (GLOBE & MAIL, 12/25).
OTHER VIBES: Redskins RB Pierre Thomas said that the movie "will give him a better perspective of what Omalu went through, but he also understands that some of it could be sensationalized for the big screen and the general audience." He said, "It’s going to start up a big conversation. Everybody is going to start talking about this after they see this movie, and it’s going to be a big commotion. But what can you do? What can we do? Nothing. ... It’s the nature of the game, that’s how you explain it to them. It’s the nature of the game. You sign up for this" (WASHINGTON POST, 12/27). The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE editorial board writes under the header, "NFL Still Showing Bad Faith On Brain Injuries." The new big-budget movie "depicts the NFL in a grim light." But there is "powerful new evidence that the NFL still isn’t acting in good faith in addressing a problem that has ruined the lives of hundreds of ex-players and is blamed for many suicides" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/28). In Boston, Ben Volin wrote the film "takes considerable artistic license with the story of CTE and the NFL" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/27). Landesman said of communicating with the NFL while making the movie, "I completely avoided that conversation. We needed nothing from them, and the only agenda that would have been served would have been theirs to find out what we were up to" ("CBS This Morning," 12/26).
