CONCUSSION
Trust God’s wisdom and plan — a compelling drama for discerning adults.
Should You Watch It?
CONCUSSION tells a compelling true-life-style drama about Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Christian Nigerian forensic pathologist who discovers evidence that repeated blows to the head may cause serious brain damage among professional football players. Will Smith gives a solid performance, and the film’s Christian moral worldview links God with truth, faith, wisdom, compassion, American liberty, and scientific knowledge.
The film’s weakness is dramatic. Its jeopardy shifts from a rival at the coroner’s office to NFL officials and finally to the pressure placed on Dr. Omalu’s pregnant wife. The result is powerful in places but not consistently tense.
The content keeps this from being a family choice: strong foul language, disturbing scenes, mental disturbance, and implied suicide are present. Adults who can engage those concerns thoughtfully may find the film worthwhile; families with children and young teens should choose something else.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESDr. Bennet Omalu works as a forensic pathologist in Pittsburgh. After examining the body of a famous, troubled football player, he orders additional tests on the man’s brain.
The results suggest that repeated blows to the head may have caused the player’s mental problems. Omalu shares his findings with other doctors, and their medical paper draws the attention of the National Football League and its supporters. As opposition grows, Omalu’s work begins to affect his personal life and his marriage.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means CONCUSSION is a compelling, worthwhile drama with noticeable weaknesses. Will Smith gives a solid performance, and the other cast members contribute to the film’s effectiveness. The Christian and moral material also gives the story a strong center.
The film’s main craft weakness is its uneven jeopardy. The source describes dramatically powerful scenes, but the tension shifts between different sources of opposition instead of building consistently. That keeps the film from being as gripping as it could have been.
The Worldview
CONCUSSION presents Dr. Omalu as a Christian pathologist concerned with truth, compassion, and the protection of people in danger. The film links God with faith, wisdom, American liberty, and scientific knowledge. It includes prayer, church, crucifixes, and a conversation with a Catholic priest. Dr. Omalu’s wife tells him that God appointed him to discover what he found and urges him to trust God’s wisdom and keep speaking the truth. The woodpecker’s natural protection is used as an implied reference to intelligent design.
The film also presents Omalu’s positive view of America and his offense when others want him silenced. It includes some light politically correct elements, including comments from real-life Democrats in Congress, and negative comments about business, particularly the NFL. The NFL officials also point out that the league provides jobs and performs charitable work.
The film exalts truth-telling, compassion, scientific inquiry, and perseverance in the face of pressure. Its central call to speak truth for the sake of vulnerable people aligns with Scripture: “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong Christian, moral worldview about a Christian pathologist from Nigeria trying to get people to be concerned about his scientific findings about the dangers of brain damage among a certain percentage of football players, including a prayer, a visit to a church, images of crucifixes, a talk with a Catholic priest, protagonist’s wife talks about him being appointed by God to find what he found and not to give up pleading his case, woman tells husband to “trust God’s wisdom,” an implied reference to Intelligent Design, movie also links God with Faith, Truth, Compassion, American liberty, and scientific knowledge, protagonist is concerned about telling the truth and encouraging others to tell the truth to help people he feels are in danger, with some light politically correct elements where movie only uses comments from real-life Democrats in Congress about the issue in the movie, along with some negative comments about business, particularly the National Football League, but the NFL officials remind people that they give jobs to many people and do lots of charity work, and protagonist has a positive view of America and is offended when other Americans who oppose him want him to shut him up about a truth he has discovered; 13 obscenities (including one or two “f” words), five strong profanities and two light exclamatory profanities; sometimes disturbing violence includes some football scenes of hitting and tackling and leaping, emotionally disturbed man smashes objects and puts his hand around wife’s throat but then leaves, man tasers his leg and dies of a heart attack, disturbed man gets angry, images of corpses, pregnant woman and her unborn baby get sick, upset man smashes wall of his house out of frustration and pain, implied suicides, long distance shot of a fiery crash on a freeway, and it’s said that a man committed suicide by drinking antifreeze; no sex, but unmarried kiss; upper male nudity; alcohol use; brief smoking and man appears to be “huffing” an inhalant of some kind; and, threats, people refuse to acknowledge truth, uncaring people.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Dr. Omalu believes he must speak for people who can no longer speak for themselves. When have you needed courage to tell the truth for someone vulnerable?
Proverbs 31:8–9 · Ephesians 4:25Omalu’s wife tells him to trust God’s wisdom and continue speaking out. What does trusting God look like when obedience brings pressure?
Proverbs 3:5–6 · James 1:5The film connects scientific knowledge with God’s wisdom and the order of creation. How can faith and careful investigation work together?
Psalm 111:2 · Romans 1:20The story raises questions about compassion for people suffering from mental disturbance and brain damage. How should Christians respond to people in distress?
Galatians 6:2 · Romans 12:15The Final Word
CONCUSSION is compelling, morally serious, and anchored in a strong Christian view of truth and wisdom. Its uneven jeopardy and troubling content make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For a family-friendly alternative, see.
