National Champions

Name: National Champions
Genre: Drama
Released: December 10, 2021
Rating: 52
Cast: Alexander Ludwig, Andrew Bachelor, David Koechner, J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey Donovan

2021

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Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

STX Films | Release Date: December 10, 2021

Starring: Alexander Ludwig, Andrew Bachelor, David Koechner, J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey Donovan, Kristin Chenoweth, LilRel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Timothy Olyphant, Uzo Aduba

Summary: Three days before the college football national championship game, star quarterback LeMarcus James (Stephan James) and teammate Emmett Sunday (Alexander Ludwig) ignite a player’s strike declaring they won’t compete until all student-athletes are fairly compensated. With billions of dollars at risk and legacies on the line, the stakes couldThree days before the college football national championship game, star quarterback LeMarcus James (Stephan James) and teammate Emmett Sunday (Alexander Ludwig) ignite a player’s strike declaring they won’t compete until all student-athletes are fairly compensated. With billions of dollars at risk and legacies on the line, the stakes could not be higher. Now, with only hours until kickoff, the head coach (J.K. Simmons) and various power brokers (Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Andrew Bachelor, Jeffrey Donovan, David Koechner, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant, Uzo Aduba) must race against the clock to protect or destroy the prevailing collegiate athletics system.… Expand

Director: Ric Roman Waugh

Genre(s): Drama

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Critic Reviews

Joe Leydon

Dec 9, 2021

As timely as last night’s episode of “ESPN Sports Center,” and as riveting as a well-crafted tick-tock suspenser, National Champions adroitly avoids most of the pitfalls common to conventional “message movies” by raising and debating issues in the context of a solid and involving drama that can be enjoyed even by people who couldn’t tell an offside kick from a cheerleader’s cartwheel. Read full review

Michael Ordoña

Dec 9, 2021

You don’t have to be into football to appreciate the high-stakes struggle in National Champions. Read full review

Stephen Humphries

Dec 10, 2021

By peeling back the layers of the characters on both sides of the issue, the movie offers a potent reminder that, often, policy debates become mired in talking points. The danger is that we’ll miss the human stories at the heart of such matters. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Odie Henderson

Dec 10, 2021

You need a blackboard full of X’s and O’s to keep track of the petty plays this movie's running. Read full review

Brian Lowry

Dec 10, 2021

At its best, National Champions feels calibrated to provoke a conversation about the flawed framework of college sports, which is talked about plenty and still not enough. Then again, TV networks and sports-related media outlets benefit from the existing system, and many fans would rather just hear about wins and losses. Read full review

Thomas Floyd

Dec 10, 2021

As an attempt to expose college athletics for what it is — a laughably lucrative hierarchy that relies on free labor by student-athletes to line the pockets of coaches, commissioners and other bigwigs — National Champions gets a notch in the win column. Read full review

Mark Hanson

Dec 8, 2021

As a peek into the relationship between sports, media and capitalism, National Champions feels like a beginner’s playbook. Read full review

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