To say that this movie is a disappointment is an understatement.
Pros:
Technical aspects of the film such as cinematography and sound are well done; Zrinka Cvitesic as Biserka Petrovic is believable as a mother and a human being; Tonko Stosic is charming as young Drazen Petrovic; a fair amount of Drazens' basketball achievements are mentioned; Drazens' work ethic is briefly shown once or twice;
The End.
Cons:
This movie fails as a movie, let alone a story about Drazen. When any pivotal conflict suddenly presents itself (via exposition, every single time) it immediately gets resolved (just in passing, every single time) via exposition or a montage in the next scene which sets up a new challenge and around it goes.
The movie is a series of scenes of Drazen hanging out in bars/offices/living rooms, chasing or getting chased by girls and basketball clubs while lightly discussing things he wants to do - and those goals being immediately achieved in a 20-second-montage.
Anything important and interesting is briefly mentioned (or not even mentioned at all), while the rest is an attempt at a Hollywood romantic drama. If you didn't know anything about Drazen before watching this and you blinked during montages about his basketball prowess you still won't know or remember anything about him at the end - well, I guess you'd know he was a basketball player and apparently was very good because everyone says so.
So little of his character was shown: his determination, his leadership, charisma, unbreakable spirit, relationships with people (other than his immediate family or love interests)... Some of it was attempted, but deemed less important.
Domagoj Nizic as adult Drazen doesn't have a passing resemblance to Drazen (even though the actor seems like a sweet guy) but the bigger problem is he can't believably convey Drazens' spirit nor is he believable as a basketball athlete.
I thought my biggest problem with this movie would be inconsistencies involving dialect or lack of basketball scenes, but a decent screenplay to begin with was apparently too much to ask.
I could go on but I respect Drazen (the Man, not this film) too much to go off on this production here...
TL;DR: Story about one of the greatest sports icons famous for his incredible work ethic and for overcoming great odds gets a below average ''tell, don't show'' romantic drama treatment, with some basketball clips running on a TV in the background and hours of talking about a basketball career (could've been about anyone).
Watch some highlights or a documentary instead - you will have a much, much better time.
I'm very sad...
''Zivot leti, kapetane.''
