Fighting for truth Looking at the title of the film ' National Champions', I thought that we will be shown at least one game, but in fact it turned out to be quite different, and in general sports films always show sports and action on the field, in the ring. But this film is more focused not on the action itself, but on what is happening outside the football field, because most people just watch what is happening and do not even think about how difficult it is for the players themselves and what politics they are associated with.
This was not tolerated by the key player of the university football team Le Marcus James (Stephan James), who started the strike with his best friend and teammate Emmet (Alexander Ludwig). Le Marcus decided to fight for the rights of his teammates and for the rights of other players, as he believes that players are treated disrespectfully, do not pay a well-deserved amount of money and do not provide health insurance. 72 hours before the important match, he began to boycott the game and with the help of various online platforms, he was able to cooperate with a large group of his teammates on the football field.
As I said, the film did not show any football matches at all, the main action of the film takes place from the hotel rooms, but the dialogue and struggle for the truth look rich, intense and very grounded, thus the film attracts with its real essence and reality, because such events occur in real life in the world of American football. Perhaps the film will be more interesting to those who are familiar with American football and understand the essence of this sport, and those who will be interested in politics outside the football field, but this is also the highlight of this film - to attract viewers not with action, but with history and the fight for the truth, and watch as one player opposes the whole system.
Also, I do not want to lose sight of one important component of this film - coach James Lazor performed by D.J. Simmons, his speech touched a living and it was clear that he cared about the players.
'The National Champions' is an unusual sports drama, more focused on history and dialogue.