In the current CL, our film critic Joe Bardi writes a very informative review of not only the plot of the new Hollywood release Moneyball, but also of the gestation period that it took to reach the silver screen. The story of the underdog Oakland A's 2002 regular season ups and downs was originally encapsulated in Michael Lewis's New York Times 2003 best-seller, and now comes to big screen eight years later.
Joe's ultimate verdict is that the film is "effective but uninspiring."
The Hollywood formula for sports films frequently (The Fighter being the last great example) is that the team or protagonist goes through great struggle, but comes out victorious at the end. But the protagonist of this film, A's General Manager Billy Beane, says unless you win the last game of the season, nobody cares. And every season there is only one champion.
The A's weren't that team in 2002 (the California Angels were), but the ideas introduced in the sport that season is the underlying narrative (one that simultaneously was occurring as steroids were changing the game as well).
