Friday Night Lights (Full Screen Edition)

Rating:
Summary: I could knock you out wearing a pair of flip-flops
Review: "I can't do anything else! I can't do anything else! I can't do anything else!"

If it wasn't for that line and scene above, this was a flat out C movie, average at best. The final half hour of this movie saved the whole film for me. Friday Night Lights had every single football cliché in it possible. The scene where the kid forgets his helmet, I looked at my fiancée and said next play _____ is going to happen. Low and behold, Boobie Miles gets it. Just like every other football movie.

The team they have to play is bigger and badder, and physically stronger then them, they looked like an NFL team. How do they get back into the game? Trick and gadget plays (Trojan Horse), heck that play was used in "The Waterboy," with the Fonz calling plays. In terms of being a football movie, it was nothing special, the only original aspect was when the cameraman had the camera driven into his face, which was a pretty cool scene.

Also, the plot line reads: "Based on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers." I don't think how poor the town is was emphasized enough. To me it looked like your average high school with some rich kids and some, not so much so.

Peter Berg (The Rundown) directs this movie, and I much preferred his work on "The Rundown." Interesting fact on him (per IMDb) he and three others were ambushed and robbed in the Brazilian jungle while doing research for "The Rundown." They were held for 15 minutes and lost cash and a laptop computer. Nobody was injured. I hope his work in Splinter Cell turns out to be better then this film.

In all, this movie is very average, nothing special, and not worth purchasing. The story of Boobie Miles is a story that has happened at every high school; the story of Boobie Miles and his Uncle is special. The story of Charles Billingsley and his son Don Billingsley is at every high school, probably on a year in and year out basis; but this resolution is not. The story of Mike Winchell and his coach has occurred at every high school, even Mike Winchell and his big game has happened at every high school. The story of Mike Winchell and his mother is a beautiful thing to watch unfold.

The story is there, the characters are there, but the movie falls a little short of all its lofty praise.

Grade: B-


Rating:
Summary: Really Good
Review: Even if you don't enjoy (or understand) football, you'll still like this movie which comes more as a story of live than one of a game.

Rating:
Summary: Football is King in Texas!
Review: Friday Night Lights gives a good picture of small-town Texas where high school football is the most exciting thing around. The whole town feels ownership in the team, and people don't hesitate to tell the coaches what to do, and the players, how to do it. The end result, especially in a town like Odessa, where past successes fuel future aspirations, is a coach and players who are in a constant pressure-cooker. The movie illustrates the different reactions which individuals have to these pressures. Billy Bob Thorton, as the coach, is unfailingly polite to the townspeople, even when they track him down outside of Wal-Mart to give him advice. He cares more about the boys' character than how many games they win, an attitude which is not always popular in Odessa. His star player is a cocky young man who puts all of his hopes on obtaining a college scholarship and eventually playing in the pros. When an injury ends this dream, he is shattered. The quarterback is sincere and hard-working and loves football, but he hates the pressure of winning. Another of the young players is constantly harrassed by his father who won a state championship and will stand for nothing less from his son. This is an exciting sports movie which clearly demonstrates the problems with the "win at all costs" mentality.

Rating:
Summary: TURN OFF THE LIGHTS!
Review: I had a hard time staying awake, the first hour
and 15 minutes of this movie. The last half hour,
made this movie decent. Wasn't Billingsly, Achilles
cousin, in Troy? I'd much rather see Troy again,
than this movie! (meaty ohkur at best)

Rating:
Summary: Didn't get me up for the big game--- got me down...
Review: I'm a total sucker for sports movies. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I am totally taken in by the Disney-style, get hyped-up, go-for-it, ultimate release, feel-good movies exemplified by Hoosiers, Remember the Titans, the Rookie, and Miracle (for example), and I have quite a nice DVD sports collection. So "one of the best sports movies of all time" was high on my list for viewing--- and I'm sorry to say I was disappointed. I have no argument with the actors; Thornton delivers a largely understated performance (except for the screaming), nor do I havea problem with the whole "win the whole thing" mentality. I appreciate that the movie really focused more on the dangers of obsession rather than football, and perhaps that's what made it disappointing: instead of getting excited and rah-rah, I was depressed. I don't care that they didn't adhere religiously to the facts (what movie does? It's a movie and should be enjoyed [or not] based on its own merits). Even the "be perfect" speech at the end, the redemption of just being as good a person as you can be, came too late. Why tell the boys to be perfect all season (implying that they must win each game) and then define "perfection" with a half-hour of football left in the year? The ultimate redemption just fell flat. Rocky lost his match at the end of the (first, of course) movie, and you still jumped up and cheered. I could care less about these guys. And that made me sad. This movie, I'm sorry to say, is not on my "best sports movies of all time" list. Not even close. For the record, my number 1 is Bull Durham. All the others mentioned above are on the list too. Because they make me feel good ---- and Friday Night Lights definitely did not.

Rating:
Summary: "Friday Night " A Saturday Night Disapointment
Review: Is it possible to come away from a film both bored and irritated? I guess the answer is yes because I'm both, and I blame it on this overstrung, overacted mess called Friday Night Lights. It's a sports movie so predictable it's almost funny, but it has a jitteriness and dark tone with makes it about as hilarious as a tension headache.

The movie of course is about football in Texas, where it is taken every bit as serious as Baptist sunday school and honkytonk music, but Friday Night Lights lacks believability. Many of the actors aren't big enough to pose as high school football players, especially for a rural farm-boy town they're supposedly situated in. It shows a scene where the players are weightlifting in the school gym, and I'm thinking "don't you kids eat?" They look no taller than 5' 9" and scrawny, with no weight to throw around. In a real Texas high school football team - especially one predicted to win the state finals as the team in Friday Night Lights is - the players are a foot bigger and a foot wider (slight exageration but you get my point). This inaccuracy threw me right off, and I had a hard time settling into the movie. No big deal anyway, because the first half suffered uneven pacing and was a little thick in the overdramatization. The second half was better, but still predictable and I had a hard time believing the game time situations or caring about the characters. And maybe that's it's most glaring flaw; the stereotypes and storylines of the main characters was too played out for me. It's like I've already seen the movie a dozen times. Blah. Wasted time, wasted money.

The positive reviews I've read about this football flop are misleading and overly generous, and it does nothing for such a fascinating sport.

Rating:
Summary: lights out
Review: this movie is so bad it isnt funny-- anyone who can sit thru this and enjoy it must be brain dead ! no character development no real plot-- no one u care about- dumb camera work totally unsatisfying ill conceived nothing to work with no point no drama--no pay off---- just gets worse and worse until u realize watching paint dry is more interesting !! its too bad about decent actors like billy bob--- so few good scripts-- these hacks need work and pour themselves into empty vessels like this---it was a bad year for movies but this is right there at the bottom ! of all the things ive seen recently a movie called my architect stands out the most--- its a revelation ! the opposite end of the spectrum from this dreck- i only mention it---to get the stink of friday night lights out of my head !! u wanna see something worth sitting thru-- check out my architect !!

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: This movie was just great! Although it seems to be in the same catagory as other teen sports movies, this one goes beyond the same old script. I think what captivated me more was the fact that its a true story that took place in Texas and being a Texan it just got my attention! I'm not into sports at all, especially football, but this movie was more than that. The actors do a great job of making you feel like you're a part of their small town and you feel like you can relate. Overall i think this movie is Awesome.

Rating:
Summary: Movie OK, unlike book
Review: Well, I read the book first and then saw the movie a few weeks later. The book focuses on the sociological aspects of the obsession with high school football, to the detriment of other things such as education, ethics, etc. The movie left out most of the sociology and kept the football. The movie was OK as a sports movie, but it was a big letdown to someone who has read the book.

Rating:
Summary: Utter confusion
Review: What happened here? This movie was a mystery at best. There was no character development, there was very little in the way of a plot, and after almost two hours of sitting through this confused mess, they lost. If you want to watch an actual team come together in the face of adversity, watch "Remember the Titans" or even "The Longest Yard".
I liked the football footage, how could you not? But come on, there was no real story. The players were absolutely faceless. The jump cuts were pointless, and what little background we did get didn't amount to a hill of beans.
There are way better ways to spend an afternoon.