Aaron Hernandez. The future Hall of Fame tight end who threw his life away by murdering his friend.
Hernandez’s story certainly is an interesting one. He grew up in a small Connecticut town with a bit of a dysfunctional family— an abusive dad and absent mom— but he excelled at football. Perhaps this is because his dad, who played college ball at UConn, trained both of his sons to reach the next level.
Hernandez also experienced some other familial matters at home; his dad died when he was 15 years old, and his mom cheated with the husband of Hernandez’s cousin. However, his dad’s death encouraged him to find a different path, which is how we know who he is today.
Originally, Aaron committed to UConn for football when he was 14. That way, he and his brother would establish a QB-TE connection and make it to the NFL. However, after Dennis Hernandez passed away, Aaron flipped to Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators.
When Hernandez went to the NFL, his life started to change. Aaron had always been involved in sketchy situations involving drugs, guns, and gangs, but after three years in the league, Hernandez reached the brink of his problems. On June 26, 2013, he was arrested for the murder of his friend Odin Lloyd (which he was later convicted of).
Ryan Murphy recently just released a drama biopic of Hernandez’s life that is available on Disney+ and FX. Having watched Netflix’s documentary on Hernandez’s life, I knew the situation of what happened. Yet, I still found enjoyment in watching Murphy’s series.
Aaron Hernandez: American Sports Story was released on September 17th, and it details the life of Hernandez in a drama series. So far, only 4 episodes have been released, and it details his life until he declares for the draft. I have watched all 4 available episodes, and I plan to finish the series as the next episodes become available. Currently, here is my review.
The Negatives:
1. The actors don’t look like the people in real life
Now I understand when it comes to casting a biopic or series about another person’s life, casting directors work hard to find actors that look close to the appearance of who they are doing the project on. However, I feel like the actors in this series don’t quite look like the people in real life. Josh Andres Rivera was an okay cast as Hernandez, and so was Tony Yazbeck as Urban Meyer. They both have features similar to those of Aaron Hernandez and Urban Meyer. However, I feel as though they could have cast other actors who looked close to both. Don’t even get me started on who they cast as Tim Tebow because he does not look anything like the real guy.
As for my progress into the season, that is the only negative I have.
The Positives:
1. It stays very accurate to the events of real life
I like how this documentary addressed Aaron Hernandez’s life. It obviously dramatized it because it’s a TV show, but it beautifully highlighted the smaller details of Hernandez’s life, like addressing his struggles with his identity and faith. I also like how it went into detail about his relationships with his father, brother, mother, cousin, and friends. It does a good job of showing how his behavior started to change over his time in college, foreshadowing the events for the next 6 episodes of the series.
Currently, this is the only major overarching positive.
As it stands, we are still waiting for the release of the next six episodes, so maybe I will be writing another review once the series is complete. Currently, I would give Aaron Hernandez: American Sports Story an 8/10. It tells the story of Aaron Hernandez’s life perfectly and dramatizes it enough for the entertainment of a show but still stays true to the actual content of the story. While it covers a darker story, I still suggest people watch it because it is a powerful biopic.
