More Than a Game
Lionsgate | Release Date: October 2, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
VarietyJohn Anderson
A kind of classic of American sports history. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
This is one helluva good movie that craves the eyeballs of as many American high schoolers as it can possibly get. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
It's the die-hard camaraderie that undergirded this squad and lifted it to the top. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A knockout of a sports documentary. Destined against its will to be known as "the LeBron James movie," it is all that, and a good deal more. Read full review
80
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
The film is filled with extraordinary characters and equally extraordinary circumstances that Hollywood could craft no better in any feature script. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
While More Than a Game is a terrific exhibition of talent, exuberance and skill, it is above all a moving tribute to enduring friendship. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Fascinating not only for its portrait of an emergent--and endearing--superstar, but for the evolution of three teammates the young LeBron came to love, and the hard-driving coach who evolved with them. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
Unfortunately, producers (including James) went for the easy layup, showing so much on-court action instead of trying to hustle for insights about sports and society. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark Feeney
A missed opportunity is the effect of the school on the boys, and vice versa. Instead of sociology, More Than a Game focuses on personality. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
The art is lacking, but the material is remarkable enough to make up for pedestrian filmmaking. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
The result would make an excellent inspirational video for aspiring players, but it's not quite ready for the pros. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Belman doesn’t look into the bigger problems of James’ team jet-setting across the country during the school year, or the spectacle allowed to build up around him. He cares most about what happens on the court, which is diverting and fun as far as it goes, but not close to the whole story. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
The final message is a strong one: Even when the starting forward is one of the best high school players ever, basketball is still a team sport. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The documentary hasn’t the depth of another study of high school ball, "Hoop Dreams,"' and tends toward repetition, but, in the end, its heartfelt saga scores. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
More Than a Game is less than a movie. Read full review
40
Village VoiceNick Pinkerton
Good game footage, a few clear looks at the kids behind it, but mostly as processed as "Space Jam." Read full review
40
Time OutNick Schager
With the film heavily favoring extensive on-court footage at the expense of in-depth individual portraits, the “more” offered here is merely skin-deep, basketball-is-a-brotherhood uplift. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle Smith
Like one of those five-minute featurettes on star athletes deployed to soak up time on the pregame show -- expanded to a paralytic length. Read full review
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