The Express

The Express tells the story of Ernie Davis, a young man raised in poverty who becomes a college football star at Syracuse University and, in 1961, the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy. The film follows his recruitment by coach Ben Schwartzwalder, who has already built a successful program around Jim Brown, and Davis's struggle to earn respect on and off the field while facing racism. His success brings a national championship and the promise of a professional career with the Cleveland Browns.

Gary Fleder directed the film, which came after Runaway Jury (2003) and before Homefront (2013) in his filmography. Charles Leavitt wrote the screenplay, and John Davis produced. Rob Brown plays Davis, with Dennis Quaid as Schwartzwalder, Darrin Henson as Jim Brown, and Charles S. Dutton as Davis's grandfather. The large credited cast runs to 100 names.

Produced on a budget of 40 million dollars, the film took about 10 million dollars worldwide, a modest return. On IMDb it holds a 7.2 rating from roughly 24,000 votes, and on TMDB a 7.1 from around 298 votes. A critics' rating of 6.3 from 118 reviews sits below both audience scores, suggesting viewers responded more warmly than reviewers did.