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National Champions

National Champions

Drama · 2021

A star quarterback ignites a players’ strike hours before the biggest game of the year in order to fight for fair compensation, equality, and respect for the athletes who put their bodies and health on the line for their schools.

Movie details

National Champions

“How much is one player worth in an $18 billion game?”

2021 Drama 1h 56m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

A star quarterback ignites a players’ strike hours before the biggest game of the year in order to fight for fair compensation, equality, and respect for the athletes who put their bodies and health on the line for their schools.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over National Champions?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Salomé

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Iron Jawed Angels

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Paterno

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Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Ric Roman Waugh

Written by

Adam Mervis

Stephan James

Stephan James

LeMarcus James

J.K. Simmons

J.K. Simmons

Coach James Lazor

Alexander Ludwig

Alexander Ludwig

Emmett Sunday

Lil Rel Howery

Lil Rel Howery

Coach Dunn

Tim Blake Nelson

Tim Blake Nelson

Rodger Cummings

Andrew Bachelor

Andrew Bachelor

Taylor Sheridan

David Koechner

David Koechner

Richard Everly

Court is in session

Put National Champions on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.