With bold, in-your-face depictions of football injuries and the culture surrounding professional athletes, HIM delivers a chilling commentary on pro sports that will have you at the edge of your seat. This film leaves you wondering if risking it all for the love of the game is actually worth it.

Over the years, we’ve heard a lot about the long-term physical effects that have plagued professional football players. We’ve also seen real-time injuries occur on the field that make you wonder if dedicating one’s body to contact sports is wise. Additionally, numerous studies have been published that directly link the concussions experienced by some players to CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy).

Under normal circumstances, if a person is asked if they would repeatedly put their body in harm’s way to pursue a goal, many would probably say no. But when we’re talking about the love of professional sports, millions of dollars, notoriety, and fame, many have (and will continue) to say yes.

Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers) is faced with this dilemma from early on in the film. After experiencing an unprovoked and mysterious attack leading to a massive head injury right before being drafted to the Saviors, his choice is made clear by his agent and family: he can turn down the prospect of playing for the fictional professional football team due to the swelling in his brain, or he can push forward and undergo an intense week-long training camp with the team’s legendary quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans). For Cameron, it’s a relatively easy yes to train with his idol, even though his doctor advises against it. 

While we can see the appeal of this offer in the context of a film, we’ve actually seen similar questionable decisions made by players in the NFL. The film opens with a gruesome scene of a young Cameron who watches White clutch his broken leg, dangling lifelessly as the bone protrudes from the skin on live television. Cameron’s dad (Don Benjamin) turns Cameron’s head to face the TV, saying “See that, Cam? That’s what real men do.” A quick montage on the TV explains that White isn’t deterred and continues his professional career despite the traumatic injury, eventually earning himself the status of GOAT.

Considering that situations like this one have happened in real life, the shock of this scene isn’t too far fetched. In 2024, NFL Detroit Lions player Aidan Hutchinson fractured his tibia and fibula during a game against the Dallas Cowboys. After nearly a year of rehab, he’s back as a defensive end with two tackles and one sack already earning him praise. Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has experienced three separate concussions between the 2022 and 2024 NFL seasons. However, he’s made it clear in his interviews that he has no intention of retiring anytime soon.

HIM delivers an emotionally charged moment during one of the training sessions where Cameron head-butts another player, causing the player to fall and begin seizing in a way that’s closely reminiscent of Tua’s previous concussion-based involuntary bodily response after being tackled and concussed. 

While these instances can still seem a bit removed as we watch them unfold on a screen, they’re all too real and we often forget that these players are human beings who have families and friends. I’ve been in the stands and witnessed my own brother get tackled and not get up immediately after. We soon learned his clavicle had been broken and punctured his lung. After undergoing surgery and making a full recovery, the experience made him rethink pursuing football professionally.

Watching some of the scenes HIM brought me right back to that devastating feeling of seeing my brother struggle to get up from the field. It also made me wonder how injured athletes reconcile the physical trauma they endure with their love of the game. 

The film doesn’t take long to answer this question for me. As Cameron considers the offer before him, we hear how contracts like this could set up his family for generations. In real life, there’s little doubt that the majority of professional athletes sign these lucrative contracts in order to provide themselves and their families with a better life. While some come from legacy families, there are many that do not, and this is a chance for them to elevate to a standard of living they have always aspired to.

And to be honest, I completely understand, as it comes from a genuine place of wanting to do good. Cameron is now at a stage in life where his dad has passed away, and this would be a way for him to provide his mother and older brother with a better way of life. But over the course of the film, we see that he has signed something akin to a deal with the devil. 

I left the film wondering if some players feel as if they no longer truly have a choice in what’s best for them. I think some players may feel similarly to Dolphins quarterback Tua and believe as though their football-based injuries are part of the package — a reasonable expense in exchange for their love of the game. Are they so dedicated to the game that they’ll willingly sacrifice their long-term health for it? It’s possible. But there could be others who feel somewhat trapped in contracts that are lucrative at the cost of their physical wellbeing, and they believe they have no alternative life path. 

We do have some NFL players that have stepped away after major injuries. Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts suffered numerous injuries throughout his career, including a lacerated kidney. He retired a few weeks before the start of the 2019 season, citing his injuries, rehabilitation, and losing his joy for football. Alex Smith from Washington suffered a compound fracture in his leg during a 2018 game. He returned to play for eight games in 2020 before retiring via a personal video, explaining his desire to enjoy long walks with his wife and kids. 

In the end, no one can predict the future. A player can push through their injuries, retire, and live a relatively comfortable life. But will those injuries manifest themselves as they age? Doctors who’ve been monitoring the progression of specific injuries such as CTE would likely say yes. But there are also many long-retired NFL players who’ve been perfectly fine.

Cameron ultimately decides at the end of the film that although he has overcome White’s challenge to be the GOAT at all costs, signing his life away isn’t worth it. We see that Cameron’s agent Tom (Tim Heidecker), the Federation president (Richard Lippert), and White’s wife (Julia Fox) are all genuinely perplexed at his decision. It’s an obvious commentary on football today: the NFL draft is highly anticipated every year, and we see players sign multi-million dollar contracts with sheer elation and relief as their family members and fans cry tears of joy, cheering them on.

So again I wonder: will we ever see an NFL draft where a player immediately turns down their offers in consideration of their health and physical well-being, deciding that football just isn’t worth it? Only time will tell.

You can catch HIM in theaters now.