High Flying Bird
During a professional basketball lockout, a resourceful sports agent turns a career crisis into a high-stakes challenge to the league’s entire power structure.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- witty
- tense
- intellectually engaged
- sports movie night
- discussion group viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a thoughtful, engrossing sports-industry drama distinguished by Steven Soderbergh's innovative iPhone cinematography and sharp examination of professional sports power.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The lockout, player contracts, league authority, and Ray Burke's strategy all center on who controls and profits from basketball.
Ray's 72-hour plan depends on uncovering and exploiting a loophole capable of changing the game's power balance.
Steven Soderbergh shot the film on an iPhone, producing a smooth but immediate visual style suited to offices, apartments, and basketball spaces.
The conflict exposes how players' labor, public image, and financial value are managed by leagues, agents, and corporate stakeholders.
Films like High Flying Bird, and why
Moneyball
shared sports-industry drama, labor conflict, and institutional power struggles
The Big Short
shared incisive corporate drama, strategic maneuvering, and critique of exploitative systems
He Got Game
shared basketball setting, racial politics, and debates over who controls athletic labor
Margin Call
shared workplace power dynamics, economic inequality, and morally complicated ambition
Movie Details
- Director
- Steven Soderbergh
- Release Date
- 2019-01-27
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 5.7 / 10 (259)
Cast
- André Holland
- Zazie Beetz
- Melvin Gregg
- Sonja Sohn
- Zachary Quinto
- Glenn Fleshler
- Jeryl Prescott
- Justin Hurtt-Dunkley
- Caleb McLaughlin
- Bobbi Bordley
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is High Flying Bird about?
- During a professional basketball lockout, a resourceful sports agent turns a career crisis into a high-stakes challenge to the league’s entire power structure.
- What is High Flying Bird like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of High Flying Bird as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is High Flying Bird violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in High Flying Bird.
- What did critics think of High Flying Bird?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a thoughtful, engrossing sports-industry drama distinguished by Steven Soderbergh's innovative iPhone cinematography and sharp examination of professional sports power.
- Which films are like High Flying Bird?
- Films with a similar feel include Moneyball, The Big Short, He Got Game, and Margin Call.
- How long is High Flying Bird?
- High Flying Bird runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch High Flying Bird?
- In United States, High Flying Bird streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
