Winning Time: 10 Unpopular Opinions, According To Reddit
HBO's Winning Time presents a big slice of sports history and features an all-star cast of characters that are towering figures in the industry. Told in Adam McKay's signature style, the show is a fast-paced romp through the behind-the-scenes machinations of one of the world's biggest sports franchises.
Despite the show's high-flying action and gripping storyline, some viewers were less than thrilled with HBO's effort. Even though it is a critical darling, some users on Reddit have taken to the site to air out some of their least popular opinions about HBO's latest magnum opus.
Portraying a public figure is a difficult task, but it is made all the more difficult when that figure is a beloved icon of their field. User RadiantEar2139 was less than impressed with one particular casting choice when writing "I'll still never understand how you got Academy Award winners and a great cast and then cast the worst...actor ever for Magic Johnson".
While it is impossible to please everyone with casting, Winning Time had a particular challenge because its figures are so well known. With many historical figures being less known to the public, it is easier to get away with being less than accurate. As for Quincey Isiah's portrayal of Johnson, most fans feel that his take on the man fits in well with the show's over-the-top nature.
The truth and fiction often converge in dramatizations of real life events, and writers fudge details to amp up the suspense. User Beahner wanted more from the series when commenting "Tell me something about these guys that shows the deeper truth on how they all succeeded like they did. Not more manufactured drama. The drama is already there in the truth."
Absolute accuracy can often serve a story well, and the book that the show is based on is an accurate chronicle of history. Television and movies, on the other hand, rely more on a great structure to tell their tales. While most fans have come to grips with the show's inaccuracy, some can't wrap their heads around spicing things up for dramatic effect.
Human beings are subtle and nuanced, and it is truly impossible to capture them accurately in a story. User didba was succinct in their opinion on the characters in Winning Time when they wrote "They are definitely caricatures, imo."
Not taking anything away from the excellent performances in the show, but it isn't necessarily inaccurate to call the characters caricatures. The show boils the individual down to their simplest form in a way to make them more digestible to audiences. While that doesn't do the person justice, it serves the show well from a storytelling perspective.
Winning Time has gotten some of its real-life counterparts in a tizzy with their portrayals in the show, and fans are split on how to proceed. User bmdweller attempted to settle the matter when they wrote "I can only hope the viewers realize it's fictionalized and separate truth from fiction...no need to apologize."
Some fans are upset with the many inaccuracies in the show, but others have come to accept them as the natural result of Hollywood gloss. It would be impossible to please the actual people who are being shown in the series, and it seems that the most important thing is to produce a pleasing product. In that respect, Winning Time has succeeded.
Pretty much every Adam McKay project usually features his trademarked visual style, and Winning Time pushes things even further. User Loki2121 was less than pleased with McKay's cinematography, writing "I have a 4k TV, stop making me watch VHS quality. Anyone else getting annoyed with the horrible resolution, video tape looking affectation?"
Though it may be jarring at first, the show's visual style is one of its strongest aspects. Capturing the look of early 1980s video technology, as well as a variety of different film stocks, the show is a feast for a film geek's eyes. McKay's style may be aggressive, but it is a testament to the writing and performances that they shine through no matter what the scene looks like.
Outside of his cinematographic style, McKay also likes to play around with on-screen text and fourth-wall-breaking constantly. User Your_Favorite_Poster's feelings boiled over when they wrote "The presentation is so frustrating...my immersion is constantly being interrupted."
Breaking the fourth wall is a tricky storytelling technique, and few filmmakers have mastered it quite like Adam McKay. While it is usually only done for comedic effect, occasionally it happens in dramatic moments as well. With a story as stylized and dramatized as Winning Time, McKay's style blends in well with the rest of the show.
Most fans can't agree on anything within a fandom, but one constant with Winning Time viewers is the quality of performances. However, user dodobirdbrain disagreed with popular sentiment when they commented "Did someone owe Adrian Brody a favor or something? Can not get over how bad the casting is for Riley."
Like many of the people in Winning Time, Pat Riley is a towering figure in NBA history. Though Adrian Brody may not look just like the real person, his brilliant acting more than makes up for it. Pat Riley is a complicated character, and some mere lookalike wouldn't have been able to give him the subtly that was needed in the part.
One of the most important parts of any piece of sports media is the way that the game itself is portrayed on screen. User tiakeuta felt the sport aspects were lacking when they said "The utterly stupid basketball sequences...This seems like a show for people who don't care about basketball or drama."
Sports movies and TV shows are tricky because they have to play to a wider audience than just sports fans. As for Winning Time, it is obvious that the on-court action is secondary to the off-court story, and therefore the game actually takes a backseat. Recreating the high-speed game of basketball is very difficult, and the show prioritized characters over flashy sporting sequences.
Adam McKay's interests as a storyteller are broad, and often those worlds can collide within his works. User theyusedthelamppost thought a certain detail should be left out when they wrote "There is no reason for this show to reach into politics for something that is way outside the scope of this story."
McKay often shows in his projects that life is inherently political, and the modern references in the show are a decidedly McKay-like touch. The idea of removing politics entirely from the story is a shortsighted one at best, especially considering that figures like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were active in politics throughout their careers.
No matter how hard creators try, they will never be able to make a piece of media that pleases all viewers. User jmedjudo offered a dissenting opinion on Winning Time when they said "This show needs to pick up the pacing imo. It's got a really good cast, and I love the cinematography but its kind of boring."
Barreling through its story at a breakneck pace, each episode takes the viewer on a roller coaster ride throughout. Despite this pace, some viewers will still be left wanting more from the series, even to the detriment of the story being presented. In the end, Winning Time may have a lot of supporters, but it will inevitably have viewers who are less than impressed with it, for a variety of different reasons.