American Underdog (2021) User Reviews (214)

The American Underdog Wins Big

[statuskuo · 8/10 · 5 January 2022]

I am only 4 years younger than Kurt Warner. And saw the path of which caused one of the most electrifying quarterbacks in American football history. I recall watching him zip a football so fast the camera couldn't follow. Corny as it may sound, I saw a guy who was desperate to win. Throughout the championship season, I kept hearing how in arena football there are no first downs. That this training embedded in Warner caused a massive shift in how we consume the sport. That the "west coast offense" overtook the ground and pound of previous years. His level of play stood out. It is also a credit to head coach Dick Vermeil (played here by Dennis Quaid) allowed this style of play to take over. Never mind the ball buster which was offensive coordinator Mike Martz (whom I kept thinking what a disaster of a head coach he was).

That said, the movie itself is schmaltzy and corny. Two things I love in movies. There is nothing more sickening than when filmmakers today have to let their sucky life overpower their films. Life sucks for them, therefore, they need to express that suckiness onto you. Not this film. This movie is a very safe movie. Nothing cruel or hateful about it. Only made with a good heart.

Now, I also recall Kurt Warner himself being a complete square. I can clearly recall how corny he was with his Christian beliefs. Very distinct in that you never saw a player more demonstrative of his faith. I thought "Man, can this guy get any more lame" This is as a result of the early 2000's. Now, as an adult I can see it was what righted his ship. As "lame" as Warner was, he gained the respect of everyone who ever doubted him.

It's hard to get a gauge on how true this story really is. Almost seems phony. But the way actor Zachary Levi plays the man shows me the complexity of his situation. The climb to get to the top came with having a good heart. A true heart. And that is infinitely more respectable than fictional Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx) in "Any Given Sunday."

As most have mentioned there is little football in this movie. True. The true underdog part is paralleled with his girlfriend/future wife Brenda's (Anna Pacquin) son who is blind. The inspiration there is that he overcomes his malady to do the things that everyone doubts in him. The son doesn't know what he doesn't know and therefore presses forward in his own pursuits to do things in life a blind person cannot. It wouldn't surprise me if this observation isn't made in the book this movie is based on.

Kurt Warner does deserve a film. Oftentimes we are saddled with biopics that seem to fall short of interest. I believe that is why most of the focus isn't on the football but on life. Because most won't know or care about the importance of professional football. It wasn't the football that Kurt hung his life on. That was pure icing on the cake. He overcame ageism to become one of the best in what he wanted to do. To many of us, this will tell you to get something you want to do and pursue it with all your heart. And, by the way, be sure to have someone to share it with. Because otherwise that victory is hollow.

A wonderful message to hang a movie on.

Those of you who are opposed to Christian messages may be turned off by the vanilla content. There are no guns being fired, no drug or alcohol abuse. It's wholesome as Hell. They are just simple Iowa natives who overcame adversity to prove to the "big city folk" country folk are talented as well (this is made very clear, Kurt's adverse reaction to country music).

It is a nice simple story about simple people.

Very nicely made flick.

Wow, what an incredible true-story.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 8/10 · 7 February 2022]

As a huge NFL fan, I had heard of Warner, but had no clue about his story. This is clearly one of the best real-life underdog stories. The directing was decent, but the writing was a little slow and stale. It needed more action and suspense, and less happy-go-lucky vibes. The 112 min runtime and slow pacing really made the film feel dragged out. The casting and performances were spot-on and convincing, and although a fan of Zachary Levi (especially in Shazam!), I think his overly happy and smiling demeanor was too much to play Warner's character. I kept expecting to hear him yell Shazam! Nevertheless, he acted his heart out, as did Anna Paquin. Still, an amazing and emotional story (have the tissues nearby) and I'm really glad I watched it. It's a well deserved 8/10 from me.

Hard to dislike, but not particularly memorable either

[ThereelscoopwithKK · 6/10 · 21 July 2022]

There's no doubt this is a feel good story showing the trials and tribulations of two people who had to endure lots to keep both their dreams and relationship alive. It's slow paced which is to be expected for what it's aiming to achieve but I didn't find there was much to differentiate it from other films that use a similar framework.

I thought Anna Paquin was quite good, but wasn't totally sold on Zachary Levi's performance. The latter half of the film which focuses on the culmination of all the two went through with Kurt succeeding in the NFL is quite rewarding to watch and well done.

Perhaps my rating is a bit harsh, because it is fine, just not special for me.

Nice tale, good movie. A love story with some football

[jljacobi · 7/10 · 7 February 2022]

Okay, this isn't the best movie technically I've ever seen, but it's a good story that needed to be told and I enjoyed it.

The moral conclusions will be obvious once you watch the movie, so I'll just skip over those. And unless you're a diehard cynic, you should.

Yes, it's sentimental, but it's not maudlin (much) and the story is largely factual. If it bothers you, you've got issues. How someone could rate this four stars, I have no idea. The acting is not mediocre, it's quite good. Dead on for the lead characters if you've ever seen the real folk interviewed live.

The overall flow of the movie is reasonable sprightly, though a tad clunky in places.

A good, fun, watch that doesn't go overboard with the emotion... Okay, maybe just a tad, but mainly the movie lets the story speak for itself.

👏 A Shinning Light in an Often-Cynical World 👏

[Instant_Palmer · 9/10 · 8 February 2022]

Get the tissues - American Underdog will make even the most stone face man let go... Best sports themed feel-good movie I've EVER seen (and I see a LOT of movies)! Second only to CODA this year in the feel good category at large, which might very well be the best of all time. It was a memorable year for feeling good watching movies 👏.

Better than anticipated, and glad I bought American Underdog (only way to see it right now other than in Theaters). Worth it!

My "Favorite Film of 2021" [EDIT: Replaced later by 'CODA' which I saw after this film]

Anyone who reads my reviews knows I don't give out 9s or 10s easily. Like Kurt Warner, this film defies the "usual" and earns my 9 without reservation.

👍👍

Wonderful Movie!

[sidfargas · 6 January 2022]

This is honestly a film that the entire family should see. Well crafted and inspirational, it's very much old school and what old school Hollywood used to deliver. Kurt Warner's real life story needed this treatment and I can't wait to own this one on dvd. I love that the faith-based aspects made it into the film yet weren't depicted in an over exaggerated or overt manner. This is a love story as much as it is a football story. Not just the love of a man and his wife but for God and his children.

DOING WHAT HE'S MEANT TO DO...!

[masonfisk · 7/10 · 13 January 2022]

Zachary Levi (from Shazam) stars in the Kurt Warner story (I mean it might as well be called that) as the film traces his struggles from being an unknown Midwestern quarterback hoping to make to the NFL but due to not playing in a big school & not having decent representation (he has to browbeat an agent to back him), he has to make due by stocking shelves in a supermarket but then an entrepreneurial indoor football team owner, played by Bruce McGill, entices him to join up where he finally achieves some state of success (along w/bagging a divorcee w/2 children played by Oscar winner Anna Paquin) but things take a turn when the ST. Louis Rams give him a chance (spearheaded by the coach's, played by Dennis Quaid, belief Levi can make a difference to the team). Not a bad film even though something like 1993's Rudy kind of got here first but it's crowd pleasing, inspirational & w/a dash of sentimental religious rot which will not completely turn off the casual viewer. Also starring Adam Baldwin (from Firefly) as one of Levi's first coaches.

Unique plot.

[kenzibit · 8/10 · 4 February 2022]

Powerful, this is just solid. A very inspirational story that will make you tear up....a story that is so rare and unique in football. Perfectly performed by great actors. Highly recommend this for the sport fans.

American Underdog

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 23 February 2022]

Andrew and Jon Erwin are Christian film directors, screenwriters and film producers who have made movies such as Woodlawn, I Can Only Imagine, Octover Baby and Mom's Night Out. Andrew says that their goal: "Our focus is still firmly rooted within the church, but it's focused out. And so our goal is to reach out beyond the church walls to engage a generation that's walking away from the church - as an introduction to Christianity."

That would be telling the story of Kurt Warner, who career saw him take the hero's journey from undrafted free agent to a two-time Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl MVP. After playing at Northern Iowa from 1990 to 1993, Warner spent four years without being picked by an NFL team until signed by the Packers and released before the season started. He played three seasons of arena football for the Iowa Barnstormers before getting signed by the Rams.

Of course, this movie doesn't really tell the entire truth, as it shows his first Rams game as the 1999 season opener against the Ravens. The truth is that it was actually the Rams' week 17 game of their 1998 season against the 49ers, during which he only completed four of his eleven attempts for 39 yards. And Trent Green, who the movie claims is the established quarterback, signed after Warner, who was allocated to NFL Europe and brought back.

But does that matter to someone who doesn't know anything about football? Zachary Levi (Chuck, Shazam!) is really charming as Warner, Anna Paquin is good as his wife and I'm always happy to see Dennis Quaid in a film.

If you do know football, having Ray Lewis be the bad guy of Warner's first game in the NFL is pretty awesome. And regardless of how you feel about religion, the lesson that Warner learns - success is only found by how you overcome failure - is one that works no matter your belief system. The way that he becomes part of his wife's family and cares for her children is exemplary and this film turned me into a fan of Warner the person.

Feel-good in its great form

[Movi3DO · 8/10 · 5 January 2022]

No disrespect but still screw the Rams.

It's not the most unique plot of all, but it sure was a feel-good underdog story. I had a great time watching the story of Kurt Warner. It's great that the real people actually involved a lot in the production, because I felt the relationship between Warner and his family first charming, and then endearing. Another warm aspect was the amount of support that the side characters had for our main quarterback. I just can't help but feel inspired.

Overall, it's another underdog story, but man it's a good one. 8.5/10.

Trick Play?

[chadk-45495 · 6/10 · 9 January 2022]

You've seen the insurance commercial with the football in the baby carriage? The ball's covered in a blanket, being cradled and hushed by a lineman. Then, in the last five seconds, that same lineman pulls away the cover and prances into the end zone. Then it's over.

That's this movie. 25 seconds of schmaltzy sentimentality or family drama. 5 seconds of gridiron.

If that sounds like a skewed ratio for a sports movie, you'd be right. That might not be a problem for many. And to be fair, I enjoyed both performances from Levi and Paquin. But there should be more touchdowns and fewer letdowns.

Kurt's relationship with Brenda and her family stands front and center. While Brenda brought emotional baggage into the fold, Kurt's brand of baggage proved more toxic: a myopic singular dream to play in the NFL. The rift that develops hurts to watch, but Brenda's faith in God gives Kurt strength to discover faith of his own and to be a better man. Then Kurt reiterates his dream. Brenda supports him. Dream consumes Kurt. Brenda resents dream. Kurt tries to woo Brenda. Rinse and repeat. But where's football?

It's here and there.

I found Kurt's relationship with his coaches and teammates to be more compelling. Yet outside of a handful of instances, we only get tidbits. The football scenes are pretty good, too. Also liked seeing Kurt play against Ray Lewis.

This movie works for what it is, but make no mistake: it's a stretch to market this as a sports film. I remember that Ben Affleck flick where he's a youth basketball coach with dependency issues, and there was way more basketball than Ben hitting the bottle. Invincible? Remember the Titans? Plenty of sports action. Here? Not nearly enough.

Absolutely loved It

[tocanepauli · 8/10 · 7 February 2022]

In these times of doom and misery you just need a film like this to give you a shot in the arm!

Inspirational and very moving story.

Just one great story and film.

Had me jumping out of my seat for joy!

Loved it...

A Feel Good Story, but Nothing New

[christophershobris · 6/10 · 29 December 2021]

I gave a very average rating for a very average movie. I went into this hoping that maybe it can have the same effect as 42 did. While it had some elements it just wasn't anything memorable or anything unique about this. It's not the best football movie, it's not the best Christian-based movie, it's just very run-of-the-mill. The acting is average, Levi does a fine job trying to exercise his dramatic skills, but was never hooked into his performance. Anna Paquin plays your typical wife with typical problems and some of it is very cliched, and the one guy I was looking forward to seeing was Dennis Quaid, but even he didn't turn in a mind-bending performance, sometimes came across as awkward and silly. The only two things that did impress me however was the young actor who played Zack who's name is Hayden Zaller, I thought he did a fantastic job, giving the only standout, most genuine performance in the film. The last thing is the editing at the end of the film was very subtle and caught me off guard, but at the same time I do feel like the ending was compromised as it just didn't feel complete, I appreciate what they were going for and I like the editing itself but what it resulted in for the ending as a whole didn't work for me. Overall, I was very unimpressed by this film, I don't hate it or want it to be burned from human existence. However, it was just very generic, very mundane, nothing about the movie is anything I'll remember, certainly not in the same way as 42. The acting was subpar minus Zaller, the story was uneventful and flat, but on the same token, it's a very harmless film. If you just want a movie that's not too complex and is told in the simplest way, and a movie you can just sit back and relax with as your full attention is not required, then you may enjoy. For people like me who likes to get engrossed in the story and ask for a lot more to be offered, this is not the movie for me. If seen better movies similar to this, and I don't need to talk about it any further. 6.1/10.

American Underdog

[jesusonewayever · 4/10 · 1 February 2022]

American Underdog is a film that I had a difficult time feeling immersed into. As a concept, the film is great! A single year starter in college has an amazing final season and has hopes for the NFL draft, but doesn't make the cut and ends up stacking groceries. We then follow his story all the way up to the point of being an NFL MVP and a super bowl champion. Unfortunately, this movie does not do this story justice. The majority of the acting was completely subpar, with many moments coming off as corny or ingenuine. And the portrayal of Warner's wife coming off very choppy, allowing little to no immersion into their relationship. The only bright spot in the acting was the portrayal of Zach, which I found to be quite good and really enjoyed.

The movie also is extremely generic, and doesn't really do anything very well. From the stereotipical initial struggles, to the "feel good" ending, it really underwhelms. I understand that this movie is based upon the true story of Kurt Warner, but it truly doesn't portray it well.

Possibly the biggest issue I have with this movie is the overplaying of the relationship between Kurt and his girlfriend/eventual wife. This subject legitimately takes up over half of the movie, and very little of it was enjoyable. It was overdone plain and simple and I didn't like it.

I did like the editing used in the final 15 minutes of the film, but that was the only bright spot in the ending. The ending seemed to collapse upon itself, leaving me feeling that the story wasn't finished. They spent so much time on the build up, that we only got to see ONE NFL game portrayed. We got to see nothing of the remainder of his NFL career, and instead got a stereotypical collage of his highlights right before the credits.

Overall, this is a movie that I don't have a desire to see again, and would only recommended this movie to someone who was looking for a football/hallmark crossover.

The Brenda and Kurt Warner story.

[TxMike · 10 April 2022]

Brenda joined the Marines but received an early discharge when her first child, Zack, developed some medical issues. Kurt was a quarterback for a lower division college in Iowa in the early 1990s. Even though he had dreamed from a young age to play quarterback in the NFL he was not able to get drafted when his year came. So he made ends meet by working at a grocery store but never gave up hope.

Brenda and Kurt managed to forge a relationship and Kurt cherished her two young children. Eventually, even though too old and too inexperienced, Kurt got a job with an NFL team and when their starting QB was injured Kurt took over. It was a gamble but it paid off. And as they say, the rest is history.

This is a very well made movie and from what I can tell by reading bios, plus the extras on the movie disc, appears to be totally authentic. As you would expect with the Warners as producers. Truly a fine story of an American Underdog.

At home on BluRay from our public library.

Nice movie but not complete

[arjen-33902 · 6/10 · 6 May 2023]

As a European i can see this as a 'true' American story.

Just a shame that the left out the part where he played in NFL Europe with the Amsterdam Admirals.

I was at all the games but guess it was a phantom on the field and not Kurt Warner... True story it is not, it is shortened and adapted for making an entertaining movie.

So when you watch this keep that in mind.

Fact is he did not come on the team the season they went to the superbowl.

That was his 2nd season with the team and between 98-99 he played the season in NFL Europe.

It is said his wife hated the godless city of Amsterdam so it could be 1 of the reasons they left that part out.

Fantastic film

[colewaters · 10/10 · 27 December 2021]

American Underdog is such a fantastic film. The acting is like no other and the cast was a great choice selection. It is definitely a must see film for the whole family.

80% romance and 5% NFL

[JurijFedorov · 6/10 · 22 May 2022]

After following the war in Ukraine and watching a ton of largely colorless depressive movies I really needed some feel good story. This looked colorful and energetic from the trailer and it got good viewer ratings. I don't know who Kurt Warner is and don't watch NFL, but as a man I watch pretty much any sport movie.

The movie is well shot, has fine acting, the sets look real, and the production overall looks high enough. It just looks like a quality movie that people will rate highly for that alone. Unfortunately the script is very weak and the story goes nowhere. Firstly it's not really a sports movie. It's largely about how Kurt found and dated his wife. He meets a woman with 2 kids. They try to get by on little cash while he remains undrafted with a football career going nowhere. This is by the main story. Football takes up maybe 20 minutes of the movie. The love story takes up over 1 hour. Nearly all scenes are Kurt hanging out with his girlfriend and her kids while living in poverty. To me as a man that's rather boring. And furthermore the movie is about an athlete so it's not even marketed as a romance hence women won't know that this is a movie for them. NFL is only shown at the very end of the movie. He joins a team and then from then on they show a bit of training and him winning Superbowl minutes later. That's the plot I wanted overall! He's apparently the greatest undrafted player ever and a legend of the game. But up till the 5 last minutes of the movie it was impossible for me to even know if he made it in NFL or not. The movie is just about his relationship which is a shame as the football in it is amazingly shot. It's clear who is running where and all the athletes show a ton of energy. It feels like real football which I haven't seen in movies before. I guess you can create magic by using CGI instead of having fans sitting around and doing only boring shots. It looks like they rented some indoor location with blue screens all around. The camera is on the field following each play. It's great! But it's a very small part of the movie and once it appears you are already tired of the story. Keep in mind the story is about this poor couple struggling each day. Then 1 hour and 20 minutes into the movie he is picked by an NFL team. Then we see the wife walking around in fancy high heels as they move into a mansion. So what happened? They were poor and then 1 minute later they are super wealthy. What's the story here? The plot never clearly moves anywhere. Stuff just happens to this family.

It's a shame such an impressive project feels produced. The story lacks passion and creativity. The script goes nowhere for the first hour. We get a few scenes with Kurt's friend. 1 scene of him working in a supermarket and playing around there. Maybe 2 short training scenes before he made NFL. Maybe 2 football games before the NFL part. And Anna Paquin is not even that interesting. Her face looks weird in this role because of her face job and she doesn't quite look like a poor housewife. She looks like a 40 year old actress who underwent a few surgeries in Hollywood. There is no great emotional bond between her and Zachary Levi. Both do a good job, but it's nothing energetic or romantic. Just a bunch of scenes of them being together that feel real, but don't push the plot anywhere. You should have cut 40 minutes of this stuff and shown more football. As of now it's not really a movie for sport fans. It's a weak romance. To me it's rather boring, but looks impressive. But I can't judge romance so I don't know if it's a good or bad one. I just didn't enjoy it. It's just a movie showing daily life scene by scene.

Beautifully made, and much better than I thought it'd be

[RJBrez · 9/10 · 5 January 2022]

I was fifteen years old during the 1999 Rams season. I still remember the "greatest show on turf" like it was last year, even though it's now been 22 years. The Rams revolutionized the sport that season.

"American Underdog" left me speechless at times. Levi was believable enough as an athlete, but the major theme of the story is family and how sometimes winning isn't really winning if you don't have those to share it with. I had heard the Kurt Warner story a few times, but obviously not with this much detail and heart.

As for the football scenes, I was blown away by how well they did. The play calling especially was well done. The trailer had me worried about the quality of football and my worries quickly subsided only after a few minutes of the film.

The supporting cast also was impressive. I wish we saw more of the beautiful and talented Paquin, who portrayed Brenda Warner and knocked it out the park. Dennis Quaid plays Dick Vermiel and like usual, was awesome. I could go on and on.

I mostly wanted to write this review for football fans (like me) who were skeptical of this film after the trailer. Please see it. I will definitely be buying this film for my personal collection. I hope you all enjoy it as well.

Good movie even if you're not interested in the sport.

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 15 August 2022]

To be honest I never heard of Kurt Warner before. As a European American football is just not that interesting, almost nobody watches this sport, mostly because the game is interrupted every five seconds and that's just a buzz killer. We don't need commercials every five seconds but in the American culture it's all about consumption so I kinda get it. Football is the main sport here (Americans call it soccer). That said American Underdog is an interesting and entertaining movie/biography. Personnaly I wouldn't have casted Zachari Levi to play the role of Kurt Warner. I mean, he's supposed to be in college in the beginning of the movie but looks like way over thirty. His acting was okay but it could have been better. Anna Paquin that I knew from the excellent show True Blood is a decent actress, looks way better with longer hair, like almost every woman by the way. There was a good chemistry between the two main charaters. The cinematography was good, it's not just football scenes and that was a good thing to be honest. The thing I learned from this movie is that Kurt Warner did a special thing in that sport, but I will probably forget everything about him by next week. He just isn't Pele or Maradona, names the entire world knows. Worth a watch even for somebody that has absolutely no interest in the sport.

Hard to believe.......

[dkaelin-22428 · 10/10 · 25 December 2021]

That this guy was bagging groceries and then 3 years later a Super Bowl Champ! Went into this movie thinking it would be some sort of Lifetime Original a-la Kirk Cameron type cheese fest. I was pleasantly surprised at just how good it was. The story line was compelling and the acting was especially fantastic (the little boy who played his step son is really good)! It's a very heart warming story of determination and love. The movie does a very good job of telling Kirt's story of being an "underdog" and reaching his dream. It's not boring at all and the football action is very realistic. It's definitely one of the better sports movies I've seen in a very long time.

Solid but...

[david_vaxjo-21102 · 6/10 · 13 November 2022]

The movie is solid and a feel good as it should be.

BUT and this is a big BUT!

The casting is catastrophic!

40 year old actors plays 25 years old. It is not realistic at all. Brenda has two kids from earlier marriage with the same man but they have different ethnicity.

Not knowing anything about Kurt I needed to use Google to understand that he was not a middle age man that got his chance of his life (like Invincible). If they had found 25 year old actors it would have been more realistic that it could be though to get date a girl with 2 kids. For a 40 year old it is a totally normal situation...

Sorry but it ruined the movie.

Best movie in a long time

[angelapple-41611 · 10/10 · 31 July 2022]

This was the best movie we have seen in a long time. It's just proves you don't have to curse or show nudity to make a good movie. Don't give up on your dreams no matter what comes your way persevere. Just do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do.

Inspirational

[stevendbeard · 7/10 · 16 January 2022]

I saw American Underdog, starring Zachary Levi-Shazam!, the Thor movies; Anna Paquin-True Blood_tv, the X_Men movies; Bruce McGill-Rizzoli & Isles_tv, Animal House and Dennis Quaid-Midway_2019, Footloose_2011.

This is a sports movie-not my favorite kind, I must admit-that is based on a true story. It's about Kurt Warner, who went from being a stock boy at a grocery store, to becoming a 2 time NFL MVP, Super Bowl Champion and a Hall of Fame Quarterback. Zachary plays Kurt, who always wanted to be those things since he was a kid but could not quite catch a break. Anna plays his girlfriend-and later, wife-and Bruce plays a man that gave Zachary his big chance with arena football. Dennis plays the coach of the Rams that sees something special in Zachary. There are ups & downs in Zachary's life-like most people-but he continues to strive for fame. It is an inspirational and heartwarming story and there are subtle hints of Christianity scattered throughout the story, mostly of his and Anna's faith, but it is not an overpowering theme.

It's rated PG for language and drinking and has a running time of 1 hour & 52 minutes.

It's not one that I would buy on DVD-not a big fan-but if you are a sports fan, it would be a good rental.

Should've been a lifetime movie channel movie

[TheNamelessCzar · 4/10 · 15 March 2022]

Very hokey, over the top sentimental, cheesy, bland, and overall boring. I'm a huge football fan, but the in your face emotion made me want to surf my phone while the movie was going on. Even the NFL action scenes looked fake. I swear, every actor looked like an over aged, out of shape pretender. Very predictable. Maybe worth a rental if you're a big sports fan and like the lifetime movie network.