Erschütternde Wahrheit

Just watched this "Based on a True Story" drama with my movie theatre-working friend. We both were enthralled by this story of Will Smith's Nigerian doctor finding out about a former NFL football player's death after suffering a concussion of the head and his later attempts to analyze similar fatalities of other deaths involving football players. Alec Baldwin plays another doctor who was also once a football player who sympathizes with Will's plight especially when the organization tries to put a stop to it all. We also get a little look at Will's character's off-duty life with a woman who's living with him and who's also from his country. Maybe there could have been some improvements, drama-wise. Still, Concussion is worth a look for anyone wanting to learn why not more is done to make sure many of these players are protected from constant injuries when on the field.

The film Concussion describes the incredible journey by Nigerian Dr. Bennet Omalu (wonderfully played by Will Smith) who uncovered a shocking revelation about the damaging effects football collisions have on its players. More specifically, players whom often went misdiagnosed (e.g. Alzheimer's disease). Dr. Omalu was the first to bring the issue of head-to-head collisions to light, addressing it as a very real problem in need of being fixed by the influential football organizations.

This story of one man's remarkable strength and fortitude, sticking to what was right ultimately pushed the Nigerian doctor never to give up in the face of relentless attempts by the NFL to stifle such findings. What Dr. Omalu was able to do will undoubtedly go down in history books, to be read by training clinicians, aspiring lawyers, and many other professionals. A look deep into ethics, and how the "good guy" can also be the one to come out on top.

If there was ever debate over Smith's talent, it surely could be disregarded after this performance. Many an actor/actress have accepted the daunting task of a role requiring the use of a foreign accent… and very, VERY few can do so successfully. Will Smith will undoubtedly turn heads as this film continues to roll out across the nation.

It is only a shame that the release of the film coincides with that of renowned director Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful 8" which will likely make this particular motion picture pass by unnoticed for many a mainstream viewer.

The lead by Will Smith alone carries Concussion. Don't miss an opportunity to watch something beautiful on screen: an extremely talented actor achieving something which is beyond impressive. To encapsulate a Nigerian immigrant in such a way that comes across as so raw and valid... that is what made this film the powerhouse that it is.

----- 8/10 STARS -------- Review by Searsino -----

I've played football at every level and nearly every professional football league possible for the last 20 years of my life and trust me when I say this movie is a MUST SEE!! After watching "Concussion" with my son on Christmas day I had an epic awakening of common sense. The movie hit home so hard for me that I will no longer support the game of football. I will not play, coach, or watch it again until overall awareness and change is set in place for the affects of playing the game to be accounted for in some kind of way on a large scale. I have played this game for the last 20 years of my life and have physically felt the affects of it more and more each year. If you have played this game you know the "SuperMan" like culture that comes with it. How it is a sin to get hurt or say "I have a headache". I will no longer turn a blind eye to the long term affects of ignoring the phrase. What the normal fan or anyone who hasn't played the game at a high level doesn't know is the stress and depression that comes with leaving the game. I'd equate it to being the same as losing a spouse of 30+ years but add 100 blows to the head every day of each year. You already feel lost and meaningless but you also have years of brain damage which inflates the process. I grew up with a love for football because of its culture, all the great things it taught me, and the qualities it brought out of me and my "brothers", my teammates. BUT all of that is not worth my life after football. The fact of the matter is we as a society have turned a blind eye to the long term affects of playing football and I refuse to be a part of the problem any longer. This movie is not as visually gripping as it could have been and it also doesn't expand anywhere near as far as it could have on the obvious occurrence of brain injuries throughout every level of the sport but it gets right to the point and it shines light on the facts. The sport isn't going anywhere safe until the NFL does and the NFL has not and probably will not because of money. If change in the sport is going to occur it has to start at the top. After watching this movie every parent has to question if they want their child to participate in this sport. For me and my children, it's a definite "No-Brainer".

First of all I think that Concussion has a good casting, Will Smith and Alec Baldwin worked really good on screen, the acting of Will Smith, specially his nigerian accent is really good, photography is quite interesting, the colors represent some type of Grey felling in the air, good movie, maybe top 10 of Will Smith movies.

"Why would a man take his own life at the age of 50?" Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith)

For 28% of pro footballers, head problems not just restricted to dizziness are a result of the pounding every week in the NFL. Dr Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist, in Concussion, based on a true story, begins in 2002 the outside-of-the-league autopsies that will eventually expose the CTE impairment and other life-threatening results of the professional battering.

As gently and convincingly played by Will Smith, the doctor eventually gets the NFL and world's attention by scientifically exploring the dead bodies of former players. As in the tobacco wars, the corporation, in this case the league, denies any connection, but that stand is bound to deteriorate as devoted scientists and doctors who know the players are forced to admit the causal relationship.

The film is absorbing when it plays like a medical thriller, perhaps like something Michael Crichton would write in non science fiction. When Concussion tries to integrate the more melodramatic elements of Dr. Omalu's life such as his marriage and the couple's miscarriage, the film becomes mired in tears and melancholy, unfitting for a story worth telling about the professional struggle alone.

Concussion's emphasis on the need for public awareness of the probable danger of tackle football is well presented, even though the NFL seems like a Bond villain's empire. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue started The Committee on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury to explore the injuries and left the results with new commissioner, Roger Goodell.

Although settlement for players ensued, the concussions are still around.