Concussion

Concussion casts Will Smith in the lead role as the Nigerian forensic pathologist Dr Bennet Omalu, who was responsible for discovering chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in NFL players and thus triggered a long fight with the league and American society.

Unfortunately for the film this battle is portrayed rather poorly, constantly jumping forward large time spans, without making it overtly obvious, and only showing brief glimpses of the backlash directed towards Omalu. Some of the examples of this backlash are one rude phone call and an insinuation that the NFL was able to influence the FBI into investigating Omalu’s place of work.

The film also has a poorly implemented love story sub-plot, which serves little to the main story other than to subtly flesh out Omalu’s personal life but every time this is done it halts all momentum the main plot was gaining.

The film is much better when it focuses on the difficulties former players are suffering through as they experience the symptoms of CTE, which include rage, forgetfulness and depression.

Smith is fantastic in his portrayal of Omalu, although the Nigerian accent may be off putting for some.

**1/2