National Champions is a sports drama directed by Ric Roman Waugh. The two lead actors, Stephan James and J.K. Simmons, are spectacular, but the film is weighed down by a slow tempo and unnecessary turns. Based on a play by Adam Mervis, this film about football players holds none of the excitement of the game.
The film opens with a sort of prologue as viewers are given sports commentary from several television personalities about the hype surrounding the NCAA Football National Championship. These sports clips demonstrate why this game is so exciting, with two of the best quarterbacks in college history about to go head-to-head. The Wolves head coach, James Lazor (Simmons), has led his team through an undefeated season, but Lazor has yet to clinch the title of National Champions.
The film cuts to LeMarcus James (James), star quarterback for the Missouri Wolves, as he looks out of a hotel room window. His friend, Emmet Sunday (Alexander Ludwig), asks if LeMarcus has turned off his location services. Emmet and LeMarcus ponder what they are about to do, and Emmet reassures his best friend that they can forget their plans, that it's not too late to turn back. The football players quote scripture and confirm their resolve to move forward with their goal.
Their goal is honorable. LeMarcus and Emmet want to boycott the year's biggest game and get their teammates and the opposing team to do the same. Their issue is with the NCAA's billion-dollar industry that refuses to see collegiate players as employees but, instead, treats them as free labor. LeMarcus even calls it modern slavery in a live interview.
The NCAA, with their wheels spinning, bring in their big guns to get LeMarcus back in line and stop this nonsense. There's no way they can let the game be canceled. With the surprising addition of Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black) acting as a fixer, they dig up dirt, and as she says, try to "savage" LeMarcus and Emmet.
J.K. Simmons and Stephan James deserve praise for their performances, but in this star-studded cast, audiences might expect more than very slow, sometimes overly acted, scenes until getting back to the two main characters. Kristin Chenoweth and Timothy Olyphant, who are usually a delight to watch on screen, are given the b-plot storyline, but viewers could be tempted to fast-forward through all of their scenes.
The message of National Champions is important: the NCAA needs major reform and a commitment to its players to care for them after their time in the spotlight is over. These players sacrifice their bodies every practice and game. Though a "top-tier education" is a nice perk, if they can't function without pain or pay for their lives after college, is it worth it? However, Waugh's film is not effectively able to deliver the message successfully due to its slow pace, needless twists, and trite dialogue.