The Damned United
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: October 9, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's a classic and even charming yarn of vanity, hubris and redemption, played out against the bizarre, intense alternate universe of '70s English soccer. Read full review
100
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
The rare sports movie that deals with -- indeed positively relishes -- humiliation and disappointment. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
There's barely any on-field footage in The Damned United. What we get instead is fine acting and directing, splendid dialogue and a story too outrageous to be made up. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A pitch-perfect portrait of a man full of inspiration and ambition - and full of himself. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
It stands out as one of the best films of the genre, on the strength of the storytelling and wonderful performances. Read full review
100
Washington PostDesson Thomson
It's more than a detailed account of one man's petty vindictiveness in a bygone era. It's about how our hatred can consume us so deeply that we lose sight of everything. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
It’s a fascinating story about ambition and vanity and pride, and in Sheen’s performance and the atmosphere capture by Hooper it contains truly fine and rare things. Read full review
90
Film ThreatElias Savada
Elevates a significant moment in the history of this massively passionate spectator sport. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Avoids all sports movie cliches, even the obligatory ending where the team comes from behind. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
What's lost in translation is recovered easily enough in Michael Sheen's astonishing performance as Clough. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Sheen is startlingly good here, and so is Timothy Spall as Clough's trusted and much abused lieutenant. Read full review
80
Village VoiceChuck Wilson
A movie about soccer that doesn't spend a lot of time on the field, The Damned United, like everything Morgan writes, is an intimate character study, one that is enriched by a stellar ensemble of British pros, including Jim Broadbent as Derby's team owner. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
Hardly the heady stuff of "Frost/Nixon"--or then again, maybe exactly the same thing. This one’s more rude and fun. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Ultimately it's Sheen, finding new facets of his character in every scene, who shoots and scores. Read full review
80
NPRBob Mondello
A dramedy laying out the dueling coaching philosophies of guys who doubtless meant a great deal to fans, but of whom I'd been blissfully unaware for decades -- is enormously engaging. Enormously. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The Damned United is Shakespearean in its tragedy. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
What vaults the film above the standard sports movie is the stellar performance by Michael Sheen. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Hooper, the director, doesn’t include lots of amazing football sequences to upstage his star. He just moves everyone out of Sheen’s way. It’s about time. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
Two things that the British know that most Americans don't: Michael Sheen is the best actor in the English-speaking world; and soccer is the only football that matters. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Director Tom Hooper ("John Adams") ably balances the games (surprisingly little football footage, actually), the personalities and the drama. Read full review
70
VarietyLeslie Felperin
Telling with a light, surefooted touch a legendary tale from British soccer history, The Damned United reps the latest collaboration in factual fiction between chameleon thesp Michael Sheen, screenwriter Peter Morgan and producer Andy Harries ("Frost/Nixon," "The Queen"). Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
More Eurocentric but quite enjoyable, even for those of us who don’t follow British “football.” Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Michael Sheen, who adds to his gallery of public figures (Tony Blair, David Frost) with a sharp performance here as the legendary UK soccer coach Brian Clough. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Meaney’s Flintstone-ian brute makes a terrific foil to Sheen’s prissy arrogance, but the other supporting players don’t make much of an impression. Ditto for this slice of history itself, though mileage may vary for soccer fans. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle Smith
As the two coaches head for a faceoff in a climactic live TV interview, writer Morgan starts to seem like a rip-off -- of himself. Read full review
60
EmpireWilliam Thomas
Sheen thrives in the guise of the idiosyncratic Clough in a brilliantly candid, if bitty, football parable. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Like a skill player who just can't score, The Damned United is all dazzle and no finish and, ultimately, damned frustrating. Read full review
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