[Carlson's] lack of overt editorializing is admirable, but it still leaves Go Tigers! off-balance and off-putting, as his "heroes" are draped with adulation, even as they use unpleasant and irresponsible means to achieve questionable ends.

| May 4, 2023

It's all true, even though the details are both as chilling as the premise of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and as uplifting as the plots of a half-dozen recent sports movies.

| Sep 15, 2020

A sharply observed and richly detailed nonfiction feature that plays like feel-good, crowd-pleasing entertainment.

Full Review | Mar 26, 2007

Director Kenneth Carlson may be a little too close to the subject of this documentary.

| Mar 26, 2007

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 1, 2005

A sports documentary that is interested in much more than just sports.

Full Review | Original Score: 76/100 | Dec 31, 2002

Like the films Hoosiers and Hoop Dreams, Go Tigers! shows how a sport is more than just a game, but a part of American life.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 8, 2002

Tales like this, told with passion and skill, are what make documentaries such a vibrant and enduring part of the cinema landscape.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Oct 15, 2002

It ranks among the top of the best sports documentaries ever made.

| Sep 27, 2002

Carlson is willing to overlook and forgive all of the craziness and even criminalities that find a home in Massillon.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 8, 2002

Probably the best sports documentary since Hoop Dreams... Go Tigers! captures, vividly and unwaveringly, [high school] football as a civic enterprise.

| Original Score: A- | Aug 26, 2002

Energetic and absorbing documentary.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 15, 2002

There's some great sports footage, some colorful characters, and a great insight into the mind of a Midwestern football town.

| Original Score: B+ | Jan 4, 2002

Traverses an enormous amount of material ably and paints some vivid portraits in complex colors.

Full Review | Dec 28, 2001

The sheer volume of topics here means the film isn't as in-depth as could have been, but it is a fine effort.

| Dec 14, 2001

If ever there was a town that displayed the spirit of America, this is it.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 18, 2001

a caution against an entire American culture grown fat, brutal, and stupid on their own frugal repast of bread and circus

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Oct 13, 2001

In a vivid portrait of one high school football season, Carlson gives us a snapshot of American values on parade.

| Oct 13, 2001

A smart and often mesmerizing look at how high-school sports can hold a medium-sized town in its grip.

Full Review | Oct 8, 2001

Achieves a neatly balanced tone right smack dab in between reverence and ridicule.

Full Review | Oct 4, 2001