Perfectly encapsulating not only the high stakes sport that is American college football but the trials, triumphs and all in between for those growing up in an environment that builds pressure upon shoulders not yet acclimatised to the highs and lows of adult life, Peter Berg's frenetic and heartfelt Friday Night Lights is a stunningly crafted example of the power of sporting themed movies and a career highpoint for many involved.Based upon H.G. Bissinger's book which is itself centred around the real life Permian High Panthers football team that was the heart and soul of the small Texan town of Odessa in the late 1980's, Friday Night Lights is not merely built for an excuse to deliver action packed staging's of football matches but is built to allow heartfelt and important messages to play out around it, so much so that this moderately financially successful film spawned the well liked Emmy winning TV series of the same name.Berg (who at the time was better known as a character actor in films like Cop Land and Smokin Aces) displays a natural talent as a story teller here, as well as a fine orchestrator of his young actors (who almost pass as 17/18 year olds) and as we're introduced to the Panthers team from Billy Bob Thornton's well-meaning and measured Coach Gaines, Lucas Black's conflicted quarter back Mike Winchell, Garret Hedlund's pressured Don Billingsley and Derek Luke's flashy star playmaker Boobie Miles, it's easy to be pulled into this world of eventual pettiness and goal driven attitudes that consumes all those that inhabit it.These characters feel alive, cut from reality, the town they live in eats, drinks and thrives off them and their sport and Friday Night Lights showcases a realistic view of what the college football scene represents to those that follow it. There's the young men who have had their chance to build their life upon one successful year, those that have found success in the arena and now struggle to live out of it and those that merely find themselves driven by the idea of the team's success, an outlet if you like to allow them to forget their woes. It's in this broad spectrum of characters and snippets of Odessa life that we get that sets Friday Night Lights aside from other films of its ilk and become something more, something truly special.Much more than a mere sports movie, Friday Night Lights is quintessential viewing for movie lovers even if sport is but a foreign occurrence to them. From Berg, the fantastic soundtrack by Explosions in the Sky through to Billy Bob Thornton and an impressive young (at the time) cast with standout turns from Black, Hedlund and Luke, Friday Night Lights saw the nigh on perfect culmination of material and participants come together to deliver one of, it not the best sport movies ever made.5 coin tosses out of 5

It was difficult to watch this movie as I am a big fan (along with many, many others) of the TV show that was based on this movie (and the book on which it was based). However, if you can leave behind your love for the fantastic casting of Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler as Tammy and Coach Taylor, you will also love this movie for the same reasons you loved the TV show. The depth of the character portrayals are as rich as those developed in the TV show, and the dialog rings as true there as here. And who does not love an underdog sports story."Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It's not about winning. It's about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didn't let them down because you told them the truth. And that truth is you did everything you could. There wasn't one more thing you could've done. Can you live in that moment as best you can, with clear eyes, and love in your heart, with joy in your heart? If you can do that gentleman - you're perfect!"Or as the TV show condensed this speech: "Clear eyes, full heart, can't lose."The movie is not perfect, but it is darn close.For more of my movie reviews, please visit:https://nomorewastedmovienights.wordpress.com

I did a high-school sort of chick-flick marathon; watching movies like "Mean Girls" and "Grease", when I ran out of cliché movies on girls with trouble at school. I started searching the web for other movies with "high school" as an important theme and crossed paths with this movie. I read the summary and thought that it wasn't going to be a movie I liked, nor a movie that would fit my high-school marathon. But hell, I watched it anyways. And loved it! It is not a regular sports movie, nor anything like the high-school movies I was watching. It was rough, exciting and most importantly very real. The recognition with the characters and their problems, as well as the fact that it is a autobiographical work, made it an incredibly touching movie. It's the story of a Texan Amercian football team that is fighting to become state champion, not only on the field, as well as with themselves. It just doesn't all go as easy and smooth as planned. Don't expect anything feel-good, or warm and cozy for your sweet little soul. I cried my heart out for over an hour of the complete movie. The last time I cried that bad with a movie was with "The Bridge to Terabithia" (also wonderful, very different from this one). I surely recommend everyone to watch this. Just take a box of tissues.

As an ex-player and deep fan of the book, I can truly say that Friday Night Lights captured the emotions of the players and the fans from the "small" town of Odessa. It evokes sentiment during every second and, just like in the book, makes the viewer an instant die-hard fan, a member of Odessa's community of Permian supporters. The actors chosen for their respective roles played their parts brilliantly. Hats off especially to Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Derek Luke, and Garrett Hedlund for their performances. Everyone was totally bonded with their character and did not let go. While the makers did a terrific job in selecting the cast and writing each scene, there were some major issues that interfered with me delving completely into Permian High School, fall 1988. I do not want to sound like a movie sin counter, but I could not look over a lot of the following things.To start off, there was no reason whatsoever for the changes made to the players. Absolutely none. It transformed the story way too much. Brian Chavez was put on defense and had his number changed to 4, an insult to his legacy, in my mind; Ivory Christian was shown to be weak at the beginning and was moved to defensive end as number 90; Boobie Miles had his number changed to 45. They also altered some scores and games that took place. And the list goes on and on. There is no purpose in me dragging on about all the revisions because they can quite simply be Googled. Moving on, the in-your-face anachronism of 21st century cars was quite careless. People were dressed like it was early November for the September 29th game. The zipping about and shaking of the camera, while confusing but suitable for game scenes, was inappropriate for scenes in which a steady shot would easily permit the viewer to grasp what was going on. And last for the list of criticisms, the Rebels game deserved more on-screen time and should have shown the defense playing as well. It made it seem like the Panthers were being absolutely demolished when in fact it was a close game thanks to the defense. I know a large portion of this was dedicated to complaints. But, the flaws stuck out like a sore thumb against the perfection that was the rest of the film. The fact that they only made me dock 2 points says a lot about the quality of the movie. It will pull you in and make you understand and feel what it really is like to be a part of a high school football team in a merciless town. Watched and written 04/13/2014.