Moneyball (2011)/Movie Review

Genres: Biography | Drama | Sport
Taglines: What are you really worth?

The story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

Directed by Bennett Miller       
Writing credits  :  Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin & Michael Lewis (book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game")
Original Music by Mychael Danna       
Cinematography by Wally Pfister       
Film Editing by Christopher Tellefsen       
Casting by Francine Maisler       
Production Design by Jess Gonchor  

Cast : Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen BishopBrent Jennings, Ken Medlock, Tammy Blanchard, Jack McGee, Vyto Ruginis, Nick Searcy     Glenn Morshower, Casey Bond, Nick Porrazzo    

Storyline : Oakland A's GM Billy Beane is handicapped with the lowest salary constraint in baseball. If he ever wants to win the World Series, Billy must find a competitive advantage. Billy is about to turn baseball on its ear when he uses statistical data to analyze and place value on the players he picks for the team.

Box Office Budget: $47,000,000 (estimated)
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital  | DTS (as Datasat Digital Sound) | SDDS
Production Companies
Film Rites, Michael De Luca Productions, Scott Rudin Productions & Specialty Films (II)
Filming Locations: California State University Long Beach - 1250 N. Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, California, USA

Review
 by Robin Dhanju (Canada)

First and foremost, I want everyone to know that I love baseball and I do understand the intricacies associated with thePanasonic to unveil new helper robots game, and the fact that the A's were competing with a payroll of 1/3rd of the Yankees is very significant. However, the story line is extremely slow, and boring.

I came into this movie totally hyped up and excited about a baseball movie after way too long of a wait. I went to a matinée with only about 20 other people there to watch the movie on opening day (I know it was early but 20 is very low). Most of them seemed like avid fans as well, judging by their giggles at some of the jokes (very few) in the movie. The first thirty minutes were O.K., as it was meant to build the story line and introduce the characters. That was understandable, what was not, was the fact that the story didn't capture my attention any more throughout the the next one hour or so. I believe that the movie touched upon three players, mostly the first basemen and their transition to becoming an Athletic. I also felt that the movie focused way to much on Brad Pitt and Billy Beane, and I understand that he is the GM that revolutionized the game, but the character development really didn't reach a climax. Billy Beane had the same attitude towards baseball, and his life in general, as he did in the start. And the two hours that it took to get to that point really didn't accomplish much. The climax of the movie was VERY rushed, it was condensed into 15 minutes that really didn't have me very interested, rather had me thinking to myself "what the hell just happened".
Overall, the movie was a total let down, and even Brad Pitt's and Jonah Hill's presence isn't enough to keep baseball fans (let alone casual viewers) interested.