The Greatest Game Ever Played
Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: September 30, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 28 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
12
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
It's by far the most inspirational sports movie to come along in many a month. Read full review
83
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
In a society where athletic competitions are too often likened to war, the recognition that everyone's equal once they're off the playing field is a welcome reminder of that little thing called perspective, not to mention sportsmanship. Read full review
80
VarietyJohn Anderson
Offers an inspiring story, lush visuals and accessible characters to give a black-hat-white-hat view of class struggle in America and England. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
As feel-good as any sports movie you're likely to find. It's a solid choice for family viewing, but is equally worthy of viewing by solo adults. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I am not a golf fan but found The Greatest Game Ever Played absorbing all the same, partly because of the human element, partly because Paxton and his technicians have used every trick in the book to dramatize the flight and destination of the golf balls. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
LaBeouf ("Holes") has a scrubbed, ego-free innocence that is perfect for his working-class hero. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
Actor-turned-helmer Bill Paxton has fashioned solid family entertainment in this well-cast feature. Read full review
70
The New York TimesDana Stevens
The mixture of old-fashioned themes with newfangled techniques makes The Greatest Game Ever Played a canny piece of feel-good entertainment. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
The film is sugary, simplistic and riddled with cliches -- yet it still manages to absorb you in its story and even carry you with some of its emotions. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
An inconsistent and endearing sports inspirational that aims to be "Chariots of Fire" for golf. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
To help break the monotony, Frost relies on relentless digital effects; there are so many shots of giant golf balls whizzing toward the screen it looks like the film was meant to be projected in 3-D. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
What's missing here is the one thing any duffer knows you need: Focus. The Greatest Game Ever Played works so hard to convince you of the truth of its title that it never settles down to address the ball. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jason Anderson
The Greatest Game Ever Played is far too inconsistent to be great, but at least Paxton has made an honourable attempt to treat this piece of sports history with the gravity it deserves. Read full review
63
PremiereMatt Cheplic
To be fair, Ouimet's story is pretty magical, one of the great sports underdog tales. Read full review
60
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
As Ouimet, the always-terrific Shia LeBeouf is an oasis of depth in a film that otherwise can't pass up a sports-film cliché. Read full review
60
EmpireSimon Braund
It can be seen for what it is: a well-crafted entertainment that boasts excellent performances (particularly from Dillane) and fully engages the mythology of sport, reminding us that in its transcendent moments, even a tossy one like golf has the power to capture the collective imagination. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
About overcoming adversity and one's innermost fears. On this count, Paxton hits the ball squarely in capturing the psychology of his characters, but hooks it into the sand trap of effects and thematic overselling. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyTim Grierson
The Greatest Game mostly sits there limply -- it lacks the charming swagger Paxton dependably brings to his own acting roles. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Paxton and Frost lay the schmaltz on thickly, but the deal-breaker is the overuse of special effects, which make the game in question look more like pinball than golf. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Never thrills on an emotional level the way the best of sports films – a "Hoosiers," say – can, but it's a satisfying entertainment nonetheless. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJoshua Katzman
Sports films about underdogs overcoming long odds run the gamut from flinty intelligence (Million Dollar Baby) to mushy sentimentality (Seabiscuit). This Disney drama...falls somewhere in the middle. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle Smith
And how good should we feel about this match anyway? Absolutely anyone, we learn, can win the 1913 U.S. Open. Except blacks, Jews or women. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldPeter Debruge
Considering its superlative title (second only to George Stevens's New Testament epic, "The Greatest Story Ever Told"), I'm sorry to report that The Greatest Game Ever Played ranks somewhere in the murky middleground of sports movies. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
The film will have to settle for a bogey rather than a par. Still, some hyperbole is warranted, like "Safest Movie to Take the Entire Family To." Read full review
50
Village VoiceMark Holcomb
Ouimet versus Vardon probably was the greatest golf game ever played, and Paxton and Frost do it justice, but I wouldn't sit through another simulated hole of it for Tiger Woods's salary. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyGregory Kirschling
An inert family golf movie. Read full review
30
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It's such a great story, you have to ask two questions: Why didn't they make this movie before? And why did they make it this way? Read full review
30
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
This highly sanitized, heavily costumed, dramatically inert nonsense makes last year's dreadful golf biopic "Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius" look like a masterpiece. Read full review
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