“Drop it, or they’ll be doing your autopsy,” a sinister voice warns Dr. Bennet Omalu in the latest trailer for Concussion.
Will Smith plays Omalu, the neuropathologist who discovered a specific form of brain trauma we now know as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. The latest trailer is all pain and drama as Omalu faces the seemingly insurmountable task of having his work acknowledged by the NFL. Executives in the sports world (including one played by Luke Wilson) are all blind eyes and deaf ears, claiming that the doctor’s science comes “from nowhere.”
There’s also more context for Omalu’s research, including an impetus: the sudden death of football Hall-of-Famer Mike Webster. Webster had dementia before his death in 2002, as well as repeated head injuries during his time as a professional football player.
Alec Baldwin and Gugu Mbatha-Raw support Smith as Omalu’s allies, emphasizing the reach of the NFL but also the importance of the doctor’s work. The NFL looms ominously over the trailer, threatening to undo everything Omalu worked for and endanger hundreds of players — whom Omalu calls “warriors.”
Concussion hits theaters on Christmas Day.
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