Saquon

What the hell did I just watch? Bore fest. Alright, I sat through Saquon, the 101-minute documentary on Prime Video about Saquon Barkley's comeback from a busted knee in 2020 to his Super Bowl win with the Eagles in 2025. Directed by Alexander Pappas with NFL Films, it's built on Barkley's own video diaries-700 hours of him pouring his heart out. Sounds like it should hit hard, right? A raw, real look at a guy clawing back from rock bottom. But, man, this thing left me irritated, like it had all the pieces but fumbled the execution.

The early bits are gut-punching. Barkley's alone, filming himself on his couch, sidelined from the Giants, leg wrecked, just staring at games he can't play in. Those moments, mixed with him talking about being a dad and husband, feel real-like you're in his head, feeling his despair. It's the kind of stuff that makes you root for him. But then the film gets stuck in this endless loop about his 2024 contract drama with the Giants. Phone calls with his agent, Ed Berry, and that awkward chat with Giants owner John Mara? Yeah, it's juicy, but it drags on forever, whining about the franchise tag without digging into the bigger picture. It's like they forgot to give the other side a voice, so it just feels like a long complaint. By the time he's with the Eagles, the whole thing rushes through his monster 2024 season and Super Bowl like an afterthought. No depth, just touchdown clips. Where's the story of how he actually got there?

The look of it bugs me too. Barkley's self-shot videos are cool for authenticity, but half the time they're dark, shaky, and look like my old iPhone footage. The NFL Films stuff is slick, but the editing's all over the place-slow rehab scenes crash into hype montages. And the music? Generic, in-your-face inspirational junk. At 101 minutes, it's too long, wasting time on contract gripes instead of his growth or what running backs deal with in today's NFL.

I wanted to love Saquon. It's got heart, and Barkley's story is legit inspiring. But it's so shallow, it's infuriating-like a hype video that forgot to tell the real story. Eagles fans might eat it up, but I'm just annoyed at what could've been.

I could sit here and write for 269 more characters about how bad this was and I'm going to do exactly that to help everyone else reading this.

Talk about lifeless, motionless, slow pacing, and going through the motions. He couldn't even get 59 yards.

Instead, the best alternative is to watch Cam Skattebo (thank me later). Think Friday Night Lights, meets Rocky, who meets The Little Engine That Could, who meets Good Will Hunting. It's perfection and emotion all bundled into one. Themes of ruggedness, beauty, persistence, charm, grit, more grit, and triumph really captivate you from the first minute. Expected lots of blood, sweat, and beautiful tears as it's incredibly difficult to contain your enthusiasm.

Skattebo will undoubtedly run through the Oscar charts like he does to both doubters and D-line alike. He's a masterclass that earns every yard unlike Saquon who rode the backs (nay, tushes) of others to his fame.

Theres only one review and I cant let that stand, clearly that guy is a giants fan haha. I was wondering how they got all this footage and to find out saquon had been documenting everything since he got drafted, to see his ups & downs, highs and lows was really cool. Was a very good watch and I recommend it.

All this is is a hit piece on the NY Giants. Videotaping private phone calls is not the way to move, was absolutely disgusted when he leaked the call with the Giants owner. That was lame. Thought you had some sort of code or ethics. Expect to be Colin Kaped by the powers that be Marsha Marsha Marsha.