cyril
07-02-2015, 09:34 PM
My hope has diminished that it would be the spiritual successor of ESPN's Playmakers. After watching two episodes, I still could not empathize with the characters like those in Playmakers and the story (so far) did not entice me.
The Rock certainly looked the part, but something is missing. The way he played. In Playmakers, Demetrius Harris (played by Omar Gooding) has this strong screen presence that was very captivating. Something devious about him, something you want to find out more about his history. Not Johnson's role Spencer Strasmore. Maybe they are written as different characters so it is not a fair comparison. But as a protagonist, the character does not make me want to follow. The other characters, so far, are unimpressive as well. Maybe it's the pacing (or the style of current TV shows) - Playmakers take time to develop the characters, versus Ballers seem to be made up a bunch of fast talking guys developing vain lines. That's my impression after only 2 episodes so of course my opinions could change. I hope the series will get better. I so miss Playmakers...
The Rock certainly looked the part, but something is missing. The way he played. In Playmakers, Demetrius Harris (played by Omar Gooding) has this strong screen presence that was very captivating. Something devious about him, something you want to find out more about his history. Not Johnson's role Spencer Strasmore. Maybe they are written as different characters so it is not a fair comparison. But as a protagonist, the character does not make me want to follow. The other characters, so far, are unimpressive as well. Maybe it's the pacing (or the style of current TV shows) - Playmakers take time to develop the characters, versus Ballers seem to be made up a bunch of fast talking guys developing vain lines. That's my impression after only 2 episodes so of course my opinions could change. I hope the series will get better. I so miss Playmakers...