Sam Raimi rose to fame within the horror genre, but has directed a handful of tonally different movies, including an underrated, late 1990s baseball film. Raimi is best known for the Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ films, directing the first three movies in the series that laid the groundwork for one of the best horror film franchises.

Raimi is also widely celebrated for his contributions to the superhero genre, with the Tobey Maguire-led Spider-Man trilogy, Darkman, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Raimi’s superhero films, like his horror projects, highlight the director’s unique visual style and his affection for darker themes. This makes it surprising to learn Raimi has also directed a more dramatic, sentimental sports film.

Throughout his career, Raimi has ventured outside the horror and superhero bubble with films like Oz the Great and Powerful and Crimewave. Still, while the director’s best work remains in the aforementioned genres, it doesn’t mean his other projects should be overlooked either.

Sam Raimi Directed For Love Of The Game

Ending Raimi’s directorial run in the ’90s is the Kevin Costner baseball movie For Love of the Game. The film is based on Michael Shaara’s novel of the same name and follows a famous baseball player (Costner) at the end of his career. As previously noted, For Love of the Game is quite a departure from Raimi’s prior work.

For Love of the Game doesn’t require Raimi to be as innovative a filmmaker, nor does the film’s premise encourage the use of the striking visuals that had already defined Raimi’s work by 1999. Still, for as simple a film as For Love of the Game largely is, it’s worth watching.

Costner is comfortable in the baseball setting and delivers a reliable performance that audiences can fully get behind. Though fairly predictable at times, For Love of the Game makes an admirable effort to bring something new to the sports genre, with Costner’s aging character relying on cherished memories of love to get him through a game.

Where For Love Of The Game Ranks Among Sam Raimi’s Movies

When compared to Raimi’s other movies, For Love of the Game ranks quite low. On account of the film’s uncomplicated narrative, Raimi isn’t prompted to take many risks as a director. For Love of the Game doesn’t thrill audiences the way Raimi’s more celebrated work does, which is ultimately acceptable for the type of movie it is.

For Love of the Game‘s Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 47% is also the lowest of Raimi’s movies as a director, his lowest overall being Boogeyman, co-produced by Raimi, which has an 11% score.

However, For Love of the Game has a slightly higher audience score of 75%. The more positive response from audiences suggests that For Love of the Game has its upsides and is an enjoyable watch despite being far from Raimi’s more inspiring pursuits as a director.