23 Blast

Football biopics have emerged as the predominant form of male-geared tearjerkers, taking over the spot once held by baseball movies and westerns. Even as the sport has taken on a more sinister edge in light of recent off-the-field incidents, as well as increasing awareness about the long-term effects of concussions, the big screen portrayals have only grown rosier. Besides proliferating on big screens, such “based on a true story” football biopics have also been easy ratings grabbers on television. Dylan Baker's 23 Blast falls somewhere in between—it's getting a run in theaters, and it has the family-friendly, faith-based credentials to pull in an audience, but the production values and cast are decidedly television-sized. This is the directorial debut of the noted character actor Baker, and he has a good touch with actors and tone without ever establishing a visual sensibility or deviating too far from genre tropes.