Filmmakers have always been fascinated by the rich storylines that different sports throw up, just as they are when it comes to casino games, the Wild West, and rom-coms set in New York City. Whether filming rags to riches type of tale or one where someone has to win against the sort of odds that users of casino bonuses encounter online, producers and directors have always turned to athletic competition for inspiration. This plundering of the sporting stories that lie behind sports events shows no sign of abating in modern cinema, with lots of recent releases being based on true or fictional sports narratives, many of which had garnered betting and viewing interest from all over the globe.
There are also plenty of up-and-coming movies that sports fans will be licking their lips over. Here we give a rundown of some of the worthiest recent and upcoming sports movies that will surely satisfy sports fans and even those moviegoers who do not care too much for sport but who just love a well-told story.
King Richard – The Williams Sisters’ Rise to Stardom
Tennis is a solitary sport that requires incredible levels of self-control and dedication, things that are often ingrained in aspiring athletes thanks to the efforts of their support teams. That is all well and good when you come from a wealthy background and have full coffers of funds to call upon. However, that was not the case for the Williams sisters and their coach, Richard Williams, who made what they could of the public courts that existed in the Bronx before going on to become the greatest sporting dynasty tennis has ever seen.
That is the incredible story of “King Richard”, with Will Smith masterfully playing the role of the patriarch. In a game that is currently being dragged through the mud by certain members of the ATP Tour, it is stories such as this from the WTA Tour which should be held up as evidence of what tennis can achieve when its true values are upheld on the pro circuit and in the wider community.
American Underdog – A Quarterback Tale with a Twist
Quarterbacks are seen as demi-gods in much of the United States and so it is no surprise that lots of movies have been dedicated to their various stories down through the ages.
American Underdog treads similar ground in this regard, telling the story of revered quarterback, Kurt Warner. The difference here is that Warner was a player who did things in a completely unheralded way, unable to join the NFL via the usual college draft selection process and operating as a downtrodden free agent whilst trying to catch the eye of team scouts. He did all this while looking after those close to him and working a regular shift at his local supermarket.
It is this point of difference that has had most critics raving about this Erwin Brothers movie, which manages to dodge many of the clichés that a lot of American Football motion pictures fall foul of and therefore should appeal to moviegoers even if they do not know the first thing about the gridiron.
Boogie – An Asian B-Ball Player Rises to the Top
Making it into the elite world of country clubs and tennis tours was the driving force behind King Richard, and Boogie takes on a similar theme by following the struggles of an Asian basketball prospect called Alfred “Boogie” Chin.
The movie is interesting because it is the directorial debut of TV’s Eddie Huang, whose larger-than-life personality shines through in plenty of the characters who populate this heart-warming movie.
The film is mainly about how people from different backgrounds are pigeonholed into certain societal roles from an early age, and that to break free of those constraints is a painful but ultimately uplifting experience. The story undoubtedly borrows from the true-life travails of NBA sensation Jeremy Lin, who had to try twice as hard to prove himself against a daunting backdrop of doubt and suspicion.
Staunch Eddie Huang fans will love the movie, although there will be those who might have hoped for something a little more cutting edge than the tried and tested narrative used here. It remains to be seen if Huang will be back in the sporting world for whatever project he dreams up next.
Next Goal Wins – Samoan Footy Flick Channels Cool Runnings
Next Goal Wins is the only upcoming movie on this list and is an interesting one because it melds some of the underdog themes from movies like Cool Runnings with an all-star cast that features big hitters like Michael Fassbender and Elisabeth Moss.
The story is about a soccer coach, played by Fassbender, who is tasked with turning around the fortunes of the world’s worst-rated national team, American Samoa, and is based on a documentary of the same name that was released back in 2014. The problem the movie may have is that it will be tough to outshine the original documentary shot by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, which did a better job of telling the tale than a Hollywood director is likely to do. That said,  if Taika Waititi gets it right, then this could be the smash hit sports movie that 2022 needs, because there are not a huge amount of other sports-themed movie projects on the horizon.
The Power of the Dog – Equestrianism at Every Turn
Okay, okay, so this is not strictly a sports movie, but the motion picture that airs on Netflix – and cleaned up at the recent Golden Globes – has so much equestrianism in it that it may as well be a movie about horse racing or show jumping. A horse is present in practically every scene that the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst light up with award-worthy performances.
