‘National Champions’ Review – A Dramatic and Divisive Echo of College Football Players Everywhere

Synopsis:

Three days before the college football national championship game, star quarterback LeMarcus James (Stephan James) and teammate Emmett Sunday (Alexander Ludwig) ask all players in the title game to join them in a boycott. Their demands: the NCAA and its affiliates end their practice of unpaid labor and compensate all studentathletes. With billions of dollars on the line, the young athletes stand firm against their head coach (J.K. Simmons) and unyielding boosters, NCAA executives, conference heads – and a “fixer” who’ll go to any lengths to stop their historic and herculean efforts. At stake is not only the collegiate athletics system, but the very legacies of
those on both sides of this hot button issue.

The legendary hip-hop group, Wu-Tang Clan once said, “Cash rules everything around me C.R.E.A.M., get the money, dollar dollar bill, y’all.” It is still one of the best-written and timelessly relevant lines ever put to music. However, I don’t believe the majority of us are particularly elated by how true it is. Unfortunately, money does rule most of what we see and how we move about the world. The green-hued paper can open any door, get you out of almost any trouble, and acquire things for you that aren’t even tangible, but wait, that’s only if you have an abundance of it. Therein lies the problem, most of us don’t and will never have that kind of wealth. I won’t go into a full soapbox rant, but a huge problem (besides generational headstarts) that we all face within the giant income gap is worth and perception. Some faceless entity that you’ve never heard of has the luxury of dictating how much you are worth on a daily basis based on their perception of your job title. They may not know exactly what you do or how to do it but in order for them to feel superior and control the outcome they want, they keep you running on a treadmill of hope. You hope you can pay your bills, hope you can buy a house, hope you can enjoy some nice things, hope you can afford some free time, hope you have a financially secured future. Subsequently, since we’ve been in the system so long, it’s incredibly hard to change said system from the outside due to the fact that we adapt tend to hardships and it becomes our normal. Those in charge have the ability to create a better, more equitable hierarchy but it’ll take all of us to create that wave.

“Nothing is inevitable except the truth.”

Finally, the conversation that should’ve happened decades ago is taking place. Should college athletes, particularly football players, be paid for the millions of dollars they bring to the institutions they attend and the billions they amass for the NCAA? While discussions have been taking place in sports circles for a while, it has rarely taken place on a global scale. National Champions is the vehicle to help further the awareness of what is going on. The film is a dramatic and divisive echo of college football players everywhere. Putting the spotlight specifically on the topic, this is not your average sports film. The unfortunate facts and figures are the only hard hits you’ll see. This tale of ‘enough is enough’ is the embodiment of what players have wanted to do for years but can’t or are afraid to take the huge risk in challenging the system. Also, with social media, players of the past never had the same level of influence and access to the world. It’s a showdown of a star athlete versus the faceless and titanous NCAA.

For those who follow college sports, this film at times feels like an amalgamation of every salacious headline you’ve seen over the past few years. It’s high tension, high stakes, but tonally still doesn’t quite feel as serious as it should despite some good performances. However, the football flick does leave you with plenty to think about, no matter how you feel about the topic. Along with its moodiness, there are plenty of heartfelt and moving speeches that make the dialogue-heavy drama worth it. With its star-studded cast, National Champions is carried high and tight like a Heisman running back by the talent of those on screen. While there is a great amount to enjoy about this film, I feel as if it didn’t say enough to make it a standout or groundbreaking film. I think I would actually make a great series. Nevertheless, I think this is a conversation starter for some and a continuation for others and I believe that is what the film set out to be. Its rewatchability is medium.

Pacing & Pop

While the pacing isn’t much of an issue for most of the film, I don’t think the runtime warranted the final product. What popped for me was the topic. As a fan of college football, it’s about time the conversation and on whether or not the athletes should be compensated for the billions of dollars they bring the NCAA is widely discussed.

Characters & Chemistry

Starring: Stephan James, J.K. Simmons, Alexander Ludwig, Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Uzo Aduba, Russell Wilson, Andrew Bachelor, Jeffery Donovan, David Koechner, Kristin Chenoweth, and Timothy Olyphant.

Even with an ensemble cast this robust, there is a clear dominant force that outshines the rest. Though Stephan James as LeMarcus James is a highly motivated man on a mission who could persuade me to give him my last slice of pizza, it’s not him. Despite his electric speech that would make any player want to run through a wall, it’s not J.K. Simmons as Coach James Lazor. Nor is it the uncle-like presence and wisdom of Lil Rel Howery as Coach Ronnie Dunn. The standout in this film is Uzo Aduba as Katherine Poe. She steals almost every scene she is in and adds fire to a story that should’ve already had it.

National Champions releases in theaters on December 10, 2021. Stay safe and enjoy.

Director: Ric Roman Waugh

Writer: Adam Mervis

Producers: Basil Iwanyk and Brendon Boyea of Thunder Road Films, Greg Economou of Game1

Executive Producers: Russell Wilson, Jonathan Fuhrman, Michael Smith, Jeffrey Stott, Ric Roman Waugh, Christian Mercuri, David Haring, Adam Mervis, Robert Simonds, Adam Fogelson, Samuel J. Brown, Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor, Will Flynn.

Rated: R

Runtime: 1h 56m

Rating: 3 out 5

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3imoS5OcCw]

Dom Fisher

Senior Critic. Observing the human race since 1988.