Hello everyone! Welcome to another movie review! Wow, I can’t believe that after this review, we will have ten more movie reviews to get to Movie Review # 500. I will say that I find it somewhat peculiar in this case because, well, when I was on my 290th movie review, and of course still reviewing movies only on Facebook, I was reviewing a Christian-themed film that was based on a true story. That movie of course being Breakthrough. Now, two hundred movie reviews later, we are once again reviewing a Christian-themed movie that is based on a true story. This time, however, instead of an adoptive mother praying for her son, who fell through ice on a lake back in 2015, we are reviewing a film that is based on events in the early 1990s, with a man named Kurt Warner dreaming of joining in the NFL, and his attempts to do so. So now, without further ado, let’s talk about American Underdog.
Plot: Taking place in the early 1990s, 1992, and shortly after, to be exact, the movie is centered around football player Kurt Warner (Zachary Levi), and his journey to achieving his dream to join the NFL.
Wow, first of all, it is cool to see that within 3-4 years, the Erwin Brothers have directed not one, not two, but three films, Christian-themed, and based on a true story. I mean what, they directed 2018’s I Can Only Imagine, then 2020’s I Still Believe, and now, 2021’s American Underdog. So, was this film as good as the previous two films? Wow, yes, very much so! First of all, it is cool to see the Erwin Brothers direct a film that was not based solely on the journey of a Christian artist, or band. Okay, that’s not to say that it was annoying for them to do that, or something like that. Still, it is nice to change the game, provided that the directors were to have the Christian elements kept in this biopic of, in this case, an American football player. So, did the movie makers do a great job with what they covered in the live fe of Kurt Warner? Yes, very much so. Sure, there has been more to Kurt’s life than we got to see in this film. Still, for what we get, this film does really well with portraying what we got to see of Kurt’s life through this biopic. First of all, as mentioned before, it is great to see Kurt’s relationship with God kept in this film, along with other aspects of Kurt’s life. I’m not sure how much of this film was accurate, or how much of this film was made up for Hollywood purposes. Either way, it is great to see yet another film, and one that is based on a true story, being made even by mainstream media like Lionsgate, with help from Erwin Brothers Entertainment, and Kingdom Story Company. Again, with not as much Christian-based films either not coming out, or not being allowed to play in as many movie theaters, it’s most definitely a miracle that a film like this was able to come out in theaters in the first place. Anyway, the score by John Debney is also really good. I mean Debney shows once again, how he can use music to engage the audience just like in films like The Emperor’s New Groove, the 2016 remake of Jungle Book, and movies like those. But one of the major benefits about American Underdog is how it never sugarcoats the difficulties that occurred with either Kurt, or even his family. I mean seeing as Kurt cared about his family so much that he was willing to make sacrifices of almost every kind just to support his family, and be willing to be all in with his family, and most importantly, in his faith in God. The acting is also top notch. You have Zachary Levi, Anna Pasquin, and Dennis Quaid, among others in this film. Yeah, whoever was in charge of casting for this film clearly knew who to cast in which roles. I will admit that, at first, when I first saw the previews for this film, and saw that Zachary Levi was going to be the star of this film as the main character, part of me was sort of surprised by that choice, seeing as he played in more comedic family films like Tangled, Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, Shazam, and a few other films. I must say this was a probable big change for him to go from comedies like those to a role in a more serious film like this one. Even here, he did not disappoint. Finally, American Underdog does well with teaching valuable lessons about trusting God even when it’s difficult to do so, not giving up on your dreams, or on life in general, and things like that.
And that’s my review for American Underdog. It is a really great film with valuable lessons, and proof as to why the world needs to see movies like this even in the 21st century, movies about God, and people continuing to have faith in God no matter what. Also, the acting is phenomenal, along with the story overall. If you haven’t seen American Underdog, I would highly recommend it. You will have a blast with it, and will be surprised by how great it is.
Final Grade: A+
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 