A standard issue inspiration coach movie.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Feb 2, 2021

Its feel good and inspirational story will raise your spirits and leave you feeling much better when you leave the theater than when you entered it.

| Original Score: 3.0/4.0 | Sep 16, 2020

There are good intentions behind this, even when it contains a problem or two [or three].

| Original Score: B- | Jul 16, 2020

It's exceptionally well-meaning and patently inoffensive. It's nice to feel good.

| Apr 10, 2020

The character development, the raw emotions, the pain (beyond the physical) is portrayed beautifully.

| Feb 5, 2020

Key to the truth of this storytelling lies beyond the performance, beyond the McFarland legacy and embraces the technical aspects and attention to detail of the film...A culturally immersive film, the visuals are evocative and telling.

| Dec 8, 2019

Sure, at the end of the day, it may be just another sports drama, replete with generic dramatic shifts and cutesy comic relief, but Caro manages to sail us through a tale that ends with an emotional, even inspirational triumph.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 19, 2019

Likely helped by its factual, period grounding the end result is an old-fashioned offering that's authentically rousing.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 4, 2019

A family film that will inspire everyone.

| Original Score: A | Apr 30, 2019

It's like some sort of patriotic, eye-opening acid trip. These hard-working kids deserve to win, goddammit! You know what they really deserve? A movie of their own.

| Original Score: 5.5 | Mar 15, 2019

Tells its by-the-bootstraps story so winningly that, predictable though it may be, it's still hard not to find it thoroughly rousing.

| Original Score: B+ | Nov 16, 2018

Regardless of the sometimes flat emotional acting, the story still maintains its ability to pull on your heartstrings.

| Aug 21, 2018

The social reach of McFarland, USA is more than the story of a team of runners and a broken-down coach who show what they are made of. It's about community and becoming people of character, getting an education, and coming back to give back.

| Aug 10, 2017

Not a 'great' film per se, but definitely a worthwhile telling of a heartwarmingly Disney, sports-themed tale.

| Original Score: B | Feb 23, 2016

McFarland still warms the cockles, Costner's flawed character proves watchable and everyone, particularly the younger actors gives solid performances.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 2, 2016

It could move a little faster and be a little less proud of its own progressiveness. But McFarland is a sports movie that knows what it's doing for the most part and ends strong.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 18, 2015

What makes McFarland USA so successful, and so bracing, is the way that its protagonist becomes aware of something that is rarely broached in these sorts of narratives - his own privilege.

| Dec 17, 2015

Like the best sports movies, McFarland, USA makes sure the action on the field is only one part of the cinematic spectrum. And in this case, it's a spectrum worth seeing.

| Nov 5, 2015

There are no great surprises here but the cultural backdrop - almost everyone in the town is Mexican - adds interest and Costner is at his most relaxed and appealing.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 28, 2015

Niki Caro uses every device at her disposal to make a rousing, feelgood movie but risks turning the film into a glorified fairytale in the process.

| Sep 25, 2015