Typical Soderbergh movie. The basic gist of the film is, an NBA lockout has been going on for six months, a player who was a number one first round draft pick hasn't gotten a paycheck yet and is struggling to survive off predatory loans until everything is over. His agent, Ray Burke is trying to help him get through this all while fighting off his higher-ups within the sports agency who want to ditch the NBA for the NHL, which would probably cost him his job.
There's a bit more to the plot than this, including how Ray supposedly ends the lockout, how supposedly players are exploited by racist owners and the NBA, which is just a bizarre thing to imply, given that there is a player's union and no shortage of companies ready to endorse players. Everything the movie tries to sell the audience falls apart in the last ten minutes or so, when Soderbergh shows his cards and basically reveals this movie really is about wealthy, privileged African-Americans...fighting against racial injustice? Excuse me, what? I'm supposed to feel sorry for pro athletes who will make as much as $30 million a year or more plus endorsements? Even a bench player on minimum salary makes like $500K a year. The agents make millions. In one scene, Ray triumphantly shows up his boss, tells him he's going to take his job and walks out triumphantly like he just stuck it to the man. The whole scene is just so ridiculous and unbelievable it defies logic. Who would be ridiculous enough to give up the NBA's business because of a lockout to begin with? LOL. Especially one that was coming to an end? I would go into more of the plot, but I won't for the sake of spoilers.
The whole movie just wasn't fun. It had an agenda from the very beginning. Soderbergh, as usual, tries to sell his story with well-shot scenes in fancy restaurants, offices and coffee shops, actors rattling off dialogue so fast it doesn't allow the audience to understand who exactly individual characters are or what they do. The details of the plot are hard to gather and understand until the plot twist is revealed and then from there, it all falls apart and becomes simplistic agenda-based drivel. It's one thing to pretend to be a sophisticated movie, another to break down and reveal your real agenda was about racism, which most viewers of this film are unlikely to take seriously. The real problem with the majority of players is never examined, particularly how little many of them take education seriously. Before anyone tries to dispute anything I've said about this, I've dealt with this firsthand and know what I'm talking about.
Soderbergh is a slightly more likable version of Aaron Sorkin. I enjoy his movies occasionally but I don't trust people in general who think it is a badge of honor to be the smartest one in the room. He seems to have a complex about this that carries over to the characters in his movies; anyone he likes is always the clever one with a trick up their sleeve to outsmart someone. The bad guys are smart but never as smart as the good guys. Everyone else is just some lovable goof who needs other people to hold their hands to get through life. This is basically every movie he makes and it's annoying. Cut out the last scene and maybe this movie would get a lot better.
There's a bit more to the plot than this, including how Ray supposedly ends the lockout, how supposedly players are exploited by racist owners and the NBA, which is just a bizarre thing to imply, given that there is a player's union and no shortage of companies ready to endorse players. Everything the movie tries to sell the audience falls apart in the last ten minutes or so, when Soderbergh shows his cards and basically reveals this movie really is about wealthy, privileged African-Americans...fighting against racial injustice? Excuse me, what? I'm supposed to feel sorry for pro athletes who will make as much as $30 million a year or more plus endorsements? Even a bench player on minimum salary makes like $500K a year. The agents make millions. In one scene, Ray triumphantly shows up his boss, tells him he's going to take his job and walks out triumphantly like he just stuck it to the man. The whole scene is just so ridiculous and unbelievable it defies logic. Who would be ridiculous enough to give up the NBA's business because of a lockout to begin with? LOL. Especially one that was coming to an end? I would go into more of the plot, but I won't for the sake of spoilers.
The whole movie just wasn't fun. It had an agenda from the very beginning. Soderbergh, as usual, tries to sell his story with well-shot scenes in fancy restaurants, offices and coffee shops, actors rattling off dialogue so fast it doesn't allow the audience to understand who exactly individual characters are or what they do. The details of the plot are hard to gather and understand until the plot twist is revealed and then from there, it all falls apart and becomes simplistic agenda-based drivel. It's one thing to pretend to be a sophisticated movie, another to break down and reveal your real agenda was about racism, which most viewers of this film are unlikely to take seriously. The real problem with the majority of players is never examined, particularly how little many of them take education seriously. Before anyone tries to dispute anything I've said about this, I've dealt with this firsthand and know what I'm talking about.
Soderbergh is a slightly more likable version of Aaron Sorkin. I enjoy his movies occasionally but I don't trust people in general who think it is a badge of honor to be the smartest one in the room. He seems to have a complex about this that carries over to the characters in his movies; anyone he likes is always the clever one with a trick up their sleeve to outsmart someone. The bad guys are smart but never as smart as the good guys. Everyone else is just some lovable goof who needs other people to hold their hands to get through life. This is basically every movie he makes and it's annoying. Cut out the last scene and maybe this movie would get a lot better.