Review of Friday Night Lights (2004) by Ryan C — 22 Aug 2008

Strengths: Like the show that came after it, the film is shot beautifully. Peter Berg just gets how to handle football on a screen. Every game is shot to perfection. It focuses on what it needs to and does so with the breakneck pace and sharp cuts that come with the game of football. The story manages to be inspiring and uplifting, but also heartbreaking at times. It does a pretty good job balancing the large cast of characters and makes you feel for each of them. Nearly every character gets some kind of arc and grows from beginning to end. If we're looking for standout performances, they come from Billy Bob Thornton (Coach Gary Gaines), Garrett Hedlund (Don Billingsley), and Derek Luke (Boobie Miles). Thornton gets to give one of the best sports speeches in film history, while Hedlund has a tough, layered character, and Luke carries an emotional story for a character who goes from unlikable to sympathetic. The final game is fantastically set up, with many ups and downs that tug at your emotions.

Weaknesses: The movie is ripe with clichés. It's as if the filmmakers wanted to take every trope you see in a sports story and cram it into this. From the injured top star causing the resilient backup to take his place to the arrogant star to the player having an abusive father to the championship game involving a major comeback. It also felt like some people were underutilized. For example, Connie Britton (Sharon Gaines) plays the coach's wife and barely gets screen time. As we saw on the FNL show, she's a fantastic actress who could've been a key part of some big scenes if properly used.

Overall: There are a few things that prevent it from being among the very elite in sports movies, but it's damn close. Friday Night Lights is a masterfully shot film that portrays the relationship between a coach and his team very well. There's a lot of emotional punches throughout, making it the kind of roller coaster you want to experience in your sports movie.