Still in the mood for some football? Since last weekend was marked by “Super Sunday,” that glorious January evening on which the National Football League mounts its mega-hyped championship game, of course you are! For those who really want to keep the adrenaline flowing and feel the need for more helmet-crunching action than what was delivered last weekend, then take in Oliver Stone’s exceedingly entertaining Any Given Sunday, an amped-up sports movie that will make you want to suit up, put on the cleats and take to the field.

Al Pacino stars as beleaguered head coach Tony D’Amato, the mastermind behind a fictional pro franchise, the Miami Sharks, who are struggling to make the playoffs after years of past glories. D’Amato, who finds himself butting heads with the team’s new intrusive boss (Cameron Diaz), the daughter of the team’s late owner, is beginning to stare down the barrel of his own professional mortality as losses begin to multiply and younger, more “cutting edge” coordinators eye his job. Just as things look their darkest – the Sharks’ legendary veteran quarterback (Dennis Quaid) goes down with an injury – the team receives a jolt on the field and in the standing from its third-string quarterback (Jamie Foxx), an unorthodox rookie whose sandlot ways gain wins and endorsements, but also begin fracturing an already fragile team chemistry.

Directed and co-written by Stone, this movie thrusts viewers into the violent and primal, yet glamorous and balletic game that is pro football. From the slo-motion spin of a spiraling football soaring down the field into the outstretched hands of a sprinting receiver, to the swirling colors of angry linebackers homing in on glassy-eyed quarterbacks like blurred, heat-seeking missiles, Any Given Sunday succeeds in depicting an authenticity about the game’s physicality unmatched by anything this side of NFL Films. In fact, just as NFL Films has learned the importance of a triumphant soundtrack to back its gripping visuals, Stone’s film is also chock-full of pulse-pounding music (regrettably, some of it profanity-laden rap cuts) that lays down a suitably energetic vibe.

Ironically, the NFL refused to endorse or cooperate with Any Given Sunday, a film which ultimately is as favorable and fond of the game and its core values as any of the league’s marketing reps could ever be. The NFL shied away from Stone, fearing the shady elements of his story – money-grubbing owners, self-absorbed players, endorsement-ruled contracts, chaotic locker rooms, and questionable medical practices, among other things – would tarnish the reputation of the league, but the heart of Any Given Sunday, and indeed Stone’s primary message, is that pro football is the height of athletic courage and, combined with its gladiator/warrior mindset (an idea not so subtly suggested by clips from Ben-Hur and the casting of Charlton Heston as the league commissioner), is the pinnacle example of a group of men banding together to attain a worthy, common goal.

Any Given Sunday, rated R for raw language, locker room shots, and a brief scene of sexuality, features standout work by Pacino and Foxx and a surprisingly fine performance by Lawrence Taylor in a role that may speak volumes about him. Undoubtedly, many will say this is simply a movie for football fans, and frankly, it nuances — and yes, this testosterone-fest with the heavy-thumping soundtrack does have its share of nuance — are probably only detectable by those pigskin-literate, NFL-savvy buffs who know their Vince Lombardis from their Rich Kotites. But it also appeals on a more basic level to the fundamental ideal of teamwork over selfishness, empowering togetherness over an undermining individualism.