Both a great sports film and a terrific commentary on human nature.
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:162
Fresh:132
Rotten:30
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: An acute survey of the football-obsessed heartland that succeeds as both a stirring drama and a rousing sports movie.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for thematic issues, sexual content, language, some teen drinking and rough sports action
Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:13-05-2005
Synopsis: From Oscar®-winning producer Brian Grazer and Imagine Entertainment and based on the best-selling book about high school football by H.G. Bissinger, Friday Night Lights chronicles the entire 1988... From Oscar®-winning producer Brian Grazer and Imagine Entertainment and based on the best-selling book about high school football by H.G. Bissinger, Friday Night Lights chronicles the entire 1988 season of the Permian High Panthers of Odessa, Texas, with football players, coaches, mothers, fathers, pastors, boosters, fans and families struggling with ongoing personal conflicts while the team fights for a state championship. A town for sale, Odessa, Texas has seen better days--the financial bust evident in its boarded-up shops and broken lives. Yet one hope sustains the community where, once a week during the fall, the town and its dreams come alive beneath the dazzling and disorienting Friday night lights...when the Permian High Panthers take to the field. In a city where economic uncertainty has eroded the spirit of its inhabitants, nearly everyone seeks comfort in the religion of the Friday night ritual, where the unfulfilled dreams of an entire community are shifted onto the shoulder pads of a team of high-school athletes. Friday Night Lights captures the frenzy of a small town that reveres its school team and their weekly games. With Odessa standing in for places just like it all across America, the film provides an illuminating look at the hoped-for successes and the built-in failures of trying to live the American Dream through the efforts of a group of talented young men. The film is produced by Academy Award® winner Brian Grazer, directed by Peter Berg (The Rundown, Very Bad Things) and adapted from Bissinger's book by Berg and David Aaron Cohen (The Devil's Own). -- © Universal Pictures [More]
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Tim McGraw, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Tim McGraw, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Lucas Black, Garrett Hedlund, Lee Thompson Young, Lee Jackson
Director: Peter Berg
Director: Peter Berg
Screenwriter: Peter Berg, David Aaron Cohen
Producer: Brian Grazer
Composer: Explosions in the Sky
Studio: Universal Pictures
Reviews for Friday Night Lights
Might very well be doomed to comparison solely with other sports movies. But at least within that realm it looks pretty darn good.
The film, just like the sports battles, allows spectators to get caught up in the excitement and become intoxicated on the glare of the blinding stadium lights.
As someone who normally finds football about as exciting as golf, I was often on the edge of my seat, particularly during the climactic championship game.
Nuance typifies both Mr. Thornton's highly calibrated performance and the film's absence of unnecessary underlining.
A crowded film in which the main characters emerge as people who have skewed and unsympathetic priorities.
might have been a truly great deconstruction of the secular religion of football had it not come dangerously close to buying into the very myth it is trying to dismantle
What elevates this ode to brotherhood from other sports dramas is that its subplots, the bulk of its thematic substance, aren’t seeped in dating and teammate-envy turmoil.
Expertly infuses humanity into the unforgiving, obsessive world of high school football.
Billy Bob Thornton delivers one of the best acting jobs of his career.
Friday Night Lights can be seen as Hoosiers in shoulder pads, especially in the emotional connection between the townspeople and the team.
Friday Night Lights is a movie that gets the gridiron action exactly right, but does not dig deeply enough into the lives of the players off the field.
But all in all, this is a movie for football fans... if you don’t like the sport, then you might as well forget it and try something more to your tastes.
Latest News for Friday Night Lights
August 08, 2008:
Play Ball With RT's Top Sports Movies!
It's a busy time in the sports universe: the Olympics are underway, baseball's pennant races are heating up, and NFL players are in the midst of training camp. (Oh, and Shaq and... More...
December 23, 2007:
Peter Berg Confirmed to Direct New Dune Film
Score another one for the rumor mill: Peter Berg has been confirmed as the director of a new Dune. More...
October 16, 2007:
And the Possible Dune Remake's Director Might Be...
A few weeks ago, we discussed a CHUD report about Frank Herbert's Dune possibly heading back to the big screen. Now, according to Ain't It Cool News, some of the details... More...
June 05, 2007:
Scott Porter Signs On for a "Speed Racer" Role
Fans of TV's "Friday Night Lights" may be familiar with actor Scott Porter. Movie fans will see him in next year's "Speed Racer" adaptation. More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
| 85% 85% | World's Greatest Dad |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Friday Night Lights at Rotten Tomatoes
- Friday Night Lights at IGN
- Friday Night Lights at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.





