For football fans the movie brings a famous story to life. For the rest of us it plays like an after school special with better production value.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 1, 2021

One of the better inspirational sports stories to come along in recent years.

| Original Score: 3.0/4.0 | Sep 27, 2020

The finished product did not do enough to make me forget this is another typical sports film. It felt generic, recycled, and forgettable.

| Original Score: C- | Jul 20, 2020

Somewhere it's like a whole lot of people really liked this true story and tried really hard to make a movie out of it. The saddest part is that to me they totally failed at doing it and I think the real people in this story deserve way better.

| Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jan 11, 2020

Much of the film follows the expected sports film arc, but the performances, including Laura Dern as Beverly Ladouceur, are so spot-on, it's an enjoyable ride despite its familiarity.

| Mar 1, 2019

None of [its] flaws are critical wounds to the film's overall feel, which, aside from some annoying product placement by way of the fine people at Dick's Sporting Goods, comes across as sincere.

| Nov 21, 2017

The moral that football isn't everything seems inherently irreconcilable with a football movie, though.

| Oct 8, 2015

Mixes bland dialogue, formulaic sports-movie plot points, and vague Christian teachings with some disturbingly naïve racial overtones. The story risks inducing concussion as it pounds and thumps its message home, over and over.

| Nov 17, 2014

We've seen the 'Full eyes, clear hearts, can't lose' ethic before on screen, and more winningly dramatized, but When the Game Stands Tall does a good, and family-friendly, job of encapsulating Ladouceur's 'winning' approach...

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 20, 2014

... has its share of embellishments and formulaic tangents, and turns predictable in the second half, with a more traditional structure leading to an obligatory big-game finale.

| Sep 5, 2014

...almost as bad as that moment in cinematic history when the real Buzz Aldrin has a conversation with Optimus Prime. Should be retitled: When the Facts Don't Matter

| Original Score: 4.5/10 | Sep 5, 2014

A strong contender for the worst football movie ever made...

| Original Score: .5/4 | Sep 1, 2014

Ultimately, though, it's as sappy and superficial as its title-it feels good on the surface, but it doesn't mean much at all.

| Original Score: C | Aug 27, 2014

This insipid, formulaic sports drama fumbles, even though it's filled with earnest intentions.

| Original Score: 4/10 | Aug 23, 2014

Despite having a unique message, When the Game Stands Tall is pretty boring stuff.

| Original Score: 4.5/10 | Aug 22, 2014

When the Game Stands Tall is an incomplete pass of a Sports-piration film.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 22, 2014

Caviezel's performance is so low-key, it almost feels like he's standing on the sidelines of the movie in which he's supposed to be starring.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 22, 2014

When the Game Stands Tall is a mess of a film that gets lost in its inability to tell a single story.

| Original Score: 25/100 | Aug 22, 2014

Inspiring in a bland sort of way and doesn't come close to standing as tall as the title.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 22, 2014

It is the kind of family film that seeks to negate criticism of any type by declaring itself "clean" and "decent" and ultimately spiritual.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Aug 22, 2014