70
Metascore
35 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThere isn't a bad performance here, but besides Thornton, Luke stands out.
- 88Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaA smart, sharp, stirring adaptation of the H.G. Bissinger best-seller.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThornton, giving a splendid, disciplined performance, seamlessly shapes his coach into a believable man of quality rather than star-size charisma.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe film lets you get caught up in the excitement of this religion and the addictive nature of those stadium lights. Berg and cinematographer Tobias Schliessler get up close to the action, catching the hits and miscues in all their violent urgency.
- 80Dallas ObserverRobert WilonskyDallas ObserverRobert WilonskyThe movie works because Berg never forgets to keep his heart in the game and not just his head.
- 80L.A. WeeklyRon StringerL.A. WeeklyRon StringerCountry singer and sometime actor Tim McGraw excels as the bitter, besotted ex-Panther who can't cut his kid enough slack to follow his own game plan.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThornton gets inside the coach's skin. It's a subtle, soulful performance in a movie that otherwise goes for the jugular.
- 70VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyFriday Night Lights is the "Black Hawk Down" of high school football movies. As exclusively as Ridley Scott's picture was about combat, this film concerns football and nothing but.
- 70The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsWhen Friday Night Lights gets to the big games, the time it's spent creates an atmosphere thick with tension, one akin to the real-world experience of watching a favorite team play for its life.
- 63Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMiami HeraldRene RodriguezIt's all amiably hackneyed, but it sucks you in anyway.