Anyone not au fait with the byzantine rituals of American football’s draft day lottery may find themselves at a loss as Kevin Costner struggles to assemble a winning team for the Cleveland Browns via “trading ones”, “banking QBs” and nail-biting “on the clock” decisions. Ivan Reitman’s all-in-a-day sports flick plays like Moneyball-lite as Costner’s Sonny Weaver Jr attempts to outsmart the opposition – games being fought in the boardrooms rather than on the playing fields. A frazzled romance with Jennifer Garner’s straight-talking, sports-literate paramour never quite convinces or engages (compare this to the affectionate punch of Tin Cup), but Ellen Burstyn is in firecracker form as Sonny’s imposing mom, turning up with her husband’s ashes at a moment of maximum stress.

It’s unlikely to strike a chord with UK audiences, but Costner has always been king of the (it’s-not-really-about) sports movie, and after the crass Euro-stodge of 3 Days to Kill it’s good to see him back on home turf.