Oliver Stone scores big time with this testosterone-drenched football epic. No doubt the best football film ever made, and arguably one of the finest sports movies, the pic's title is based on the cliché that, "On any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team."

In this story, the fictional Miami Sharks should be more worried about the factionalism on their ONE team.

Set near the end of the regular season, the Sharks aren't looking too good. To make matters worse, their starting quarterback, Jack "Cap" Rooney (Dennis Quaid) AND his backup, Andy Matter (John Daniel), are both injured in the same game. It's up to third stringer Willie Beamen (Jamie Foxx) to take charge, and take charge he does.

Showing disdain for his coaches and teammates, Willie is able to win, and that's really all that owner Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), who recently took over the team from her deceased father, cares about. Add to that a pushy offensive coordinator (Aaron Eckhart), who is getting on Christina's good side, just as head coach Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino) is getting on her bad side, and you have a team that is ready to self-destruct.

Stone livens up the mix with Dr. Harvey Mandrake (James Woods) shady team orthopedist; the league commissioner (Charlton Heston), who is growing increasingly weary of Christina's power plays; Beamen's longtime and now disaffected girlfriend Vanessa (Lela Rochon); and an obnoxious sports broadcaster--clearly Jim Rome by another name--Jack Rose (John C. McGinley).

Football legends and off-the-field bad boys Jim Brown and Lawrence Taylor have significant roles, contributing to the film's dark side. Additional football greats Y. A. Tittle, Johnny Unitas, and Dick Butkus are given cameos, as well.

Coach D'Amato has to stop the bleeding, but he can't do it without the cooperation of his new quarterback. Much soul-searching is done against the backdrop of violent football action. Indeed, fully one hour of this two hour and forty-five minute pic is devoted to gridiron excitement. You've never seen a game photographed like this before.

In the end, things work out in very unexpected ways, and you leave this one feeling about as emotionally drained as you did if you saw Deliverance (1972), when it first came out in theaters.

Hardly any movie is universally loved, but it's difficult to fathom the criticisms of Sunday. Some critics have panned it as being too hyper and hard to follow, with its wildly moving camera and jumped up dialogue. Anyone who has ever been on a football field knows that the game IS hyper, wild--with action in all directions, and has constant chatter.

Others have commented unfavorably on the juxtaposition of Ben-Hur (1959) sequences, underscoring the football player-as-gladiator image.

But aren't pro football players just updated gladiators? Who cares about them after they leave the limelight? And, sad to say, many of them specialize in football from junior high on, not learning much else. Worst of all, they tend to die young, and live out their post football years more or less crippled.

Some big issues are raised in this pic, if you look beneath the surface. When Dr. Harvey Mandrake clears players that aren't yet healthy because it might help them get a bonus, is he wrong? They'll probably need that extra money later on. If a player is washed up and doesn't make his exit at the right time, what else can you do BUT push him out? Who needs a gladiator that can't fight? What does he do then?

Mostly, though, with all the big money, fame, and interchangeable women in your past, when you're 45 and hurting all the time, was it worth it?