Dancing with the devil eventually brings him home is one life lesson; a racialized party-admission joke is another, complicated by Mary's ancestry. — Van Lathan
Double features include From Dusk Till Dawn, The Thing and Fruitvale Station; the latter traces Coogler/Jordan's development. A Tarantino film is an unnamed initial impulse.
Ryan Coogler is repeatedly declared winner; Jordan is acknowledged nearby and Caton is a hypothetical retrospective winner in twenty years. — Wesley Morris
A new Oscars forecast discussion expects picture, director, score and Jordan nominations, with Mosaku, Lindo and O'Connell possibilities; Steinfeld is less likely and Lindo is proposed as likeliest acting winner.
One host calls James Caan's work his favorite performance in a sports movie that can be great in one minute and terrible in the next. — Bill Simmons
Caan is praised for looking like a credible athlete and carrying an elite athlete's mystique and charisma. — Brian Koppelman
The sleepy delivery is interpreted as a man lulled by a world that supplies his house, partner, and money while he comes alive during the sport. — Brian Koppelman
The opening credits, pregame warmups, corporate anthem, and first Houston-Madrid game are proposed together as a rewatchable opening sequence. — Bill Simmons
The opening game is praised for making the invented sport understandable through wide shots, close-ups, scoring, and Moonpie's swooper role. — Bill Simmons
Jonathan's team lecture and the interview that introduces his scoring and injury records are added as scene candidates. — Bill Simmons
The futuristic party is praised for revealing designer-drug use, assigned relationships, social control, and casual environmental destruction without exposition. — Brian Koppelman
The Houston-Tokyo game is nominated for its no-penalties premise, escalating violence, ball-to-the-head impact, and Moonpie's injury. — Brian Koppelman
Jonathan erasing Ella's videos during their breakup is proposed as another rewatchable scene. — Brian Koppelman
The final against New York is nominated for its no-penalties setup, attrition, strategy, and Jonathan's survival. — Bill Simmons