The Heart of the Game Critic Reviews

It's a wrenching, ennobling essay on teamwork and the hard struggle to change one's life.Read the full review

Sports movies have a purity of form. They always end with the big game, in triumph or heartbreak. So does The Heart of the Game, although the lawsuit still hangs over the team after the final free throw.Read the full review

It captures an authentic feel-good spirit and inspirational message that most Hollywood movies barely approximate.Read the full review

The film is a furious full-court press, its subjects aflame with the kind of passion only youth can furnish.Read the full review

An exhilarating story of loyalty and perseverance, The Heart of the Game succeeds as both inspiration and social commentary.Read the full review

Combines nonstop action with an absorbing story to become a classic on par with "Hoosiers" and "Hoop Dreams."Read the full review

The entertaining new documentary The Heart Of The Game at least acknowledges many of the same conflicts that arose in Hoop Dreams, even though it's really more about two outsized personalities and their infectious passion for the sport.Read the full review

There's no denying the exuberant energy and emotional force of this movie. It gets to you.Read the full review

The end result is an interesting documentary that is as unpolished and gutsy as the championship-caliber high school hoop stars at the other end of his camera.Read the full review