Will Smith Takes On the NFL – Concussion Trailer Breakdown

Nearly four months away from its Christmas Day opening, warning shots were fired earlier this week at the NFL as the first trailer for Concussion was released, giving the league a preview of a not-so-merry Christmas to come. The film, starring Will Smith, chronicles neuropathologist Bennet Omalu’s discovery of a degenerative brain disease, CTE, associated with concussions and his fight to make the NFL accountable for players’ safety. It’s a topic that has threatened the popularity and future of an industry that, as the film’s own trailer says, owns a day of the week. What can we learn from the two minutes that have been previewed to us? Here’s an in-depth take on the first trailer for Concussion. Let’s break down the tape.

Opening

Ominous music plays over an aerial shot of Mordor. Oh, wait; that’s just a football field. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that by the end of this film, it will want us to see every football field as a little piece of Mordor.

:10-:30

Will Smith’s origin story is set to the promise of what makes America great, or what should make America great. Smith is set up as the underdog hero that will make it easier for audiences to root for him, especially as said underdog goes to battle against a huge, multi-billion dollar corporation that most Americans love at present moment. The only thing standing in Mr. Smith’s way?  His Nigerian accent. Can it hold up for an entire two hours? Let’s hope it’s not as much of a distraction as it was Tom Hanks’ Boston accent in Captain Phillips. Only time will tell, but from this trailer alone it is jarring to hear that particular accent coming out of Will Smith’s mouth.

:35

Based on a true story. Things just got real up in here.

:35-1:05

The meaty goodness of the film. Will Smith finds a disease that nobody has ever seen; he explains how repetitive headshots choke the brain with intertwined visuals of football players bashing helmets, those poor souls choking their brains with every hit. Though never said by name, we hear how the NFL wants nothing to do with Will Smith’s findings and deny that he even has any evidence, because if there is one thing doctors always do, it’s take up a cause and go after huge corporations with absolutely zero evidence. Look! There’s Alec Baldwin! He’s explaining how Will Smith just unearthed the NFL’s boogie man, and all this time we thought it was Terry Bradshaw.

1:06

In case you need reminding, Will Smith is the star of this film. This dude saved our ENTIRE planet from aliens. Multiple times. The NFL is having difficulties silencing a ball boy whose greatest achievement in life thus far has been deflating a few footballs. What chance in hell do they have against Will Freaking Smith?

1:07-1:34

Will Smith is in danger. Apparently this is bigger than deflated balls. We hear Alec Baldwin warn just how bad things may get for our underdog hero. We see a quick montage of the following: someone being followed in a car, someone has a gun in the bedroom; someone’s car is on fire, various people looking really intense. In perhaps the most disturbing shot, we see old, white people in suites sitting in a conference room. Things are not going to be easy for our protagonist. Meetings are really hard to stay awake for.

1:35

Here we see Will Smith urging someone to tell the truth, tears nearly rolling down his eyes. This is going to be the scene where Will Smith will win his Oscar. But, we only get a tease of this epic speech. What else has he to say to these men who try to deny him, who try to deny the truth, who try to deny that good will eventually win out over evil? Unfortunately, we will have to wait until December to find out. But, this speech is going to rock; I don’t care how crappy his accent is at this point. Start writing that Oscar speech Mr. Smith and don’t take any more phone calls from M. Night Shyamalan.

1:40-2:00

We end with Will Smith walking hastily down a stadium tunnel before we cut to a black screen with the words Concussion and December. And there you go. You know the name of the movie and the month you should completely set aside on your calendar. You’ve been warned NFL. You’re getting a whole lot of CT scans stuffed into your stocking this year.

Final Thoughts

The only thing missing from this trailer was Al Pacino showing up as Roger Goodell and playing him exactly the same way he played his character in The Devil’s Advocate. If that were to happen, there would be no stopping this film from winning every major award from the Screen Actors Guild to the Oscars. As it is, this film will have to settle for a few best picture nominations and Will Smith will have to build himself a new mantle for some acting trophies, assuming his accent holds up well enough. It should be noted that this movie comes out at peak time for prestige films and at the tail end of football season just has it gears up for the playoffs. It will be interesting to see, if this movie is a hit, how it will be reported or even mentioned on outlets that carry the NFL. If this film finds a massive audience, it will be hard to ignore all the press that will come with it just as the two biggest months for the sport are set to begin. It could become the perfect storm for the NFL at exactly the wrong time. One thing is for certain: The NFL will be hoping that the new Star Wars film, also set to open in December, will be a force strong enough that even Will Smith can’t top.