draft day movie poster image

New Draft Day movie got mixed reviews from top critics. Summit Entertainment (Lionsgate) released their new comedy/sports flick, “Draft Day” into theaters today, and the reviews are in from the top movie critics. It turns out that it’s not absolutely horrible as it ,at least, got some mixed reviews with a 52 score out of a possible 100 across 23 reviews at Metacritic.com.

The movie stars: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Ellen Burstyn, Denis Leary, Frank Langella, Chadwick Boseman, and Sean Combs. We’ve included snippets from a couple of the critics, below.

Richard Roeper at the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it a 75 score,stating, “A sentimental, predictable, sometimes implausible but thoroughly entertaining, old-fashioned piece.” Mick LaSalle over at the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it another 75, stating, ” Entertaining and suspenseful, the movie shows the politicking and strategies that go into this annual ritual, and Costner is at his beleaguered best.”

Todd McCarthy over at The Hollywood Reporter, gave it a 70 grade. He said: “In his most effective full star turn in perhaps a decade, Kevin Costner dominates as the greenhorn general manager of the beleaguered Cleveland Browns.” Scott Foundas from Variety, gave it a 70 score, stating, “Draft Day affords the simple but uncommon pleasure of watching intelligent characters who are passionate about what they do trying to do the best that they can.”

Scott Bowles from USA Today, gave it a 63. He stated: “Draft’s reverence for the gridiron, its heroes and the cities that worship them (particularly Cleveland) will make the movie a first-round pick of diehards.” Michael Phillips at the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 63 score, stating, “Draft Day feels like a play, and I don’t mean a football play. It feels like a play-play at its sporadic best, in the same way J.C. Chandor’s 2011 “Margin Call” felt that way.”

Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times, gave it a 60 score. He said: “This is an earnest and way-contrived endeavor that manages, due largely to Costner’s efforts, to be genially diverting in a gee-whiz kind of way.” Stephanie Merry over at the Washington Post, gave it a 50 grade. She stated: “This isn’t a sports movie so much as a procedural about backroom dealings, double-crosses and high-stakes trades.”

A.O. Scott from the New York Times, gave it a 50, stating, “I don’t really buy Draft Day — it’s a shallow and evasive movie, built more around corporate wish fulfillment than around reality — but I have to say that it sells itself beautifully.” Peter Keough at the Boston Globe, gave it a 38 score, stating, “It’s a big deal for the NFL and ESPN, no doubt, and Draft Day serves as 110 minutes of product placement for both.”

Kyle Smith from the New York Post, gave it a 25 grade, stating, “Draft Day is lumbering and predictable, and its hero general manager is so dumb it should have been called “Dummyball.” Lastly, Elizabeth Weitzman over at the New York Daily News, gave it a very bad 20 score.

She said: “Haven’t Cleveland fans suffered enough? Not only have they never won a Super Bowl, but now the Browns serve as the center of Ivan Reitman’s painfully creaky sports drama.” Stay tuned. Follow us on Facebook by Clicking Here. Follow us on Google Plus by Clicking Here. Follow us on Twitter by Clicking Here.

Did You Enjoy this Post? Subscribe to Hollywood Hills on Facebook, Twitter, & Email