Why you can trust GamesRadar+
Why do the worst sports have the best movies? Ice hockey has Slap Shot. Baseball has The Bad News Bears. And now American football has Friday Night Lights - the finest film about the boring bits between beer adverts since Burt Reynolds tackled the system in The Mean Machine (aka The Longest Yard).
The game is fridge-sized fellas standing around in Joan Collins blouses and bike helmets waiting for the next 0.3 seconds of play. But director/co-writer Peter Berg understands the drama. For the small-town teens in HG Bissinger's Pulitzer-prize-winning source material, this season is a lifetime highlight.
"After this, it's just babies and memories," says one lank-haired admirer to Lucas Black's concerned quarterback, while Garrett Hedlund's running back has to contend with the merciless expectations of his hard-drinking dad (Tim McGraw). In fact, the whole town of Odessa is clinging to the high-school football team as if it can bring back its glory days and crush years of decline and disappointment under the feet of victory.
And any victory is going to be hard fought. Pounding and brutal, the games are like off-cuts from Gladiator - - young warriors knocking the hell out of each other to driving Public Enemy tracks. Derek Luke is spot-on as cocky star player Boobie Miles (""Y'all wanna win? Put Boobie in!""), dancing through the opening game like he was born in the shadow of the Superbowl. Certainly, he feels he was born to win. While the coach (a superbly contained Billy Bob Thornton) clearly disapproves of the town's sport-is-all mentality, he understands that for these kids football isn't just a game, it's their potential ticket to superstardom.
Berg balances the personal drama with the on-pitch plays perfectly until the third quarter, where the focus falls more firmly on Black's rather bland token lead. But the team carries the day - managing to touch, even when down.
The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.
I'm 100% sure that Arcane season 2 has introduced the next League of Legends champion, and I can't wait for them
What happened to Jinx at the end of Arcane? A tiny animation detail and a massive throwback could explain Powder's fate
The Final Fantasy 7 Remake team's 10 years working together puts it "in a really great position to move forward and do something even greater" once the trilogy wraps