The director of Warrior is back with a powerful and very promising new sports film

Paul Moore

If you loved Warrior, you’ll definitely be watching this.

There’s a certain trait that all the great sports films have; they balance the drama of real life with those of the sporting realm.

Friday Night Lights, Rocky, This Sporting Life, The Fighter, Hoop Dreams; yes, they’re all based on sport but they also have great characters who have varying degrees of real-life challenges to overcome. Basically, what’s the use of winning in sport, if you’re losing in life?

The same could be said of the superb MMA drama Warrior, starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton.

Not only were the fight sequences tough and brutal, but the dynamic between the two estranged brothers as they come to blows with their lives and each other was exceptional.

The film’s director, Gavin O’Connor, is stepping back into the world of sports with Finding The Way Back and he’s bringing Ben Affleck along.

Plot’s it all about? Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) once had a life filled with promise. In high school, he was a basketball phenom with a full university scholarship, when suddenly, for reasons unknown, he walked away from the game, forfeiting his future. Now, years later, Jack is spiralling down, triggered by an unspeakable loss and drowning in the alcoholism that cost him his marriage and any hope for a better life.

When he is asked to coach the basketball team at his alma mater, which has fallen far since his glory days, he reluctantly accepts, surprising no one more than himself. As the boys start to come together as a team and win, Jack may have finally found a reason to confront the demons that have derailed him. But will it be enough to fill the void, heal the deep wounds of his past and set him on the road to redemption?

Having read that description and seen the trailer, we’re imagining Gordon Bombay from The Mighty Ducks but with an extra level of drama and real-life complexity. That’s not a bad thing.

Aside from this, it’s clear that the film has a personal resonance to Affleck given the Oscar winner’s recent battles with alcoholism.

Cast: Ben Affleck, Al Madrigal, Michaela Watkins, Janina Gavankar and Glynn Turman.

Director: Gavin O’Connor (The Accountant, Warrior)

Irish release date: 13 March 2020.

Take a look at what’s in store.