The Rookie (2002) Critic Reviews

A rarity to be cheered: a smart, engaging family film that stands firmly in the best of the Disney tradition.Read the full review

So unassuming and pure of heart, you can't help but warmly extend your arms and yell "Safe!"Read the full review

Scene by scene, The Rookie does a better job of capturing the rhythms and rituals of the playing field and the electricity that flows between a team and its fans than well-regarded baseball films like "Field of Dreams" and "The Natural."Read the full review

Mr. Quaid has long been a reliably likable actor, but this time he pitches a perfect performance -- no frills, no tricks, not a single false note -- in a film that's true to its stirring subject, and to the sweetest traditions of the game.Read the full review

Something particularly clean shines in this American fairy tale, a quality of simplicity that's almost as hard to achieve in such movies as a middle-aged man's boyhood dreams.Read the full review

Touching and wise, with fine performances and impeccable widescreen photography, The Rookie is a rare family film that encourages kids to pursue their dreams, but not before giving full weight to the consequences.Read the full review

The pleasure of a film like this is not in wondering where it's going to go, but in knowing its exact trajectory. Getting us to pull for a foregone conclusion as if the outcome was in serious doubt is no small sleight of hand.Read the full review

Scores a solid hit.Read the full review

It's not afraid to play cornball when it isn't playing baseball, but The Rookie gets away with it.Read the full review