Pretty fresh off having finished Moneyball, the Michael Lewis book about Billy Beane and the Oakland A's revolutionary thinking, I was curious to see the film and make a comparison. I find most of the time the book wins in the book-vs-movie debate, and this was no exception.
I was highly skeptical when I had heard a movie would be based on Moneyball. Who would really want to watch a movie about a baseball general manager going against the baseball establishment? Would stats versus scouts really make for must-see watching? How to make that entertaining?
Moneyball, the film, takes some dramatic license with the content of the book. Instead of settling on the book's hemming and hawing of the scouts as they figure out that Beane wants to change the thinking of the organization, there's a confrontation. There's also conflict between Beane and manager Art Howe that wasn't present in the book (at least not as explicitly as in the film). And, to make the film connect a little more, it adds scenes with his daughter.
Finally, Jonah Hill's character doesn't exist in the book but serves as a sounding board for Beane's character in the film
Moneyball is a watchable film. It's not great or even very good. I'm honestly befuddled at the Oscar nominations for the film (Best Picture), best actor (Brad Pitt), and best supporting actor (Jonah Hill), since the film doesn't really achieve any great highs or dramatic lows.
I was highly skeptical when I had heard a movie would be based on Moneyball. Who would really want to watch a movie about a baseball general manager going against the baseball establishment? Would stats versus scouts really make for must-see watching? How to make that entertaining?
Moneyball, the film, takes some dramatic license with the content of the book. Instead of settling on the book's hemming and hawing of the scouts as they figure out that Beane wants to change the thinking of the organization, there's a confrontation. There's also conflict between Beane and manager Art Howe that wasn't present in the book (at least not as explicitly as in the film). And, to make the film connect a little more, it adds scenes with his daughter.
Finally, Jonah Hill's character doesn't exist in the book but serves as a sounding board for Beane's character in the film
Moneyball is a watchable film. It's not great or even very good. I'm honestly befuddled at the Oscar nominations for the film (Best Picture), best actor (Brad Pitt), and best supporting actor (Jonah Hill), since the film doesn't really achieve any great highs or dramatic lows.
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