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The Damned United is a most entertaining study in obsession wrapped in a traditional sports movie.
The Damned United is a thoughtful and entertaining study on the perils of ambition that has little to do with soccer and a lot to do with being human. Well-played.
One of [its] primary pleasures...is that, in choosing a topic as narrow and parochial as the fate of an English soccer club, Morgan has relieved himself of any duty to persuade us that the events he describes are of world-historical import.
A finely constructed and fiercely entertaining soccer movie that deals more in pride and obsession than penalty kicks.
[Michael Sheen] adds to his gallery of public figures (Tony Blair, David Frost) with a sharp performance here as the legendary UK soccer coach Brian Clough.
Like a tense World Cup match, there's a lack of scoring, but it is still riveting.
as foreign for American audiences as a story about one of Billy Martin's stints with the Yankees would be in the U.K.
If soccer is a Shakespearean drama, then The Damned United is Richard III.
Michael Sheen has played vampires and werewolves, but works up his most insatiable bloodlust as Brian Clough in this sharply observed, superbly acted drama that realizes sports forms as nasty a symbiotic relationship with a nation's people as politics.
Morgan, Hooper and Sheen have crafted a moving, funny and loving tribute to the spirit of a man who effortlessly defined the spirit of the greatest sport ever.
A provocative, darkly funny and particularly damning character study of hubris couched in idealism.
This slice of British football sports history won't have any cultural resonance for us Yanks... but the portrait of ambition and hubris run amok resonates in any arena...
"The Damned United" is a fascinating look at a very complex man, both talented and tone-deaf, arrogant and insecure, caring and hard-hearted.
Finds its riveting story in the locker-room and board-room wranglings of competitive team leaders, and dissects them with documentary-style precision.
Refusing to devolve into a routine sports flick (see Invictus), The Damned United is instead more interested in the off-field clashes than the on-field skirmishes.
Offering just enough football to satisfy the fans in the stands, The Damned United is also a pleasingly high-quality British drama with some terrific performances.
That Clough is still remembered enough to have a film made about him is no surprise. But that he is remembered fondly suggests memory is a dish best served cold.
THE DAMNED UNITED is an intriguing study in human ego, and its ability to interfere with sound management.
Sheen gives a magnificent performance. His Clough is a character you can neither like nor admire. You watch this walking train wreck in amazement as he continually steps on his own feet with his overactive mouth.
...the real story isn't about football, but about the competing agendas of two strong-willed individuals: one apparently playing the supporting role to the other's lead...
egoless acting, tight editing, and intelligent dialogue
...nothing like a conventional sports bio-pic; it's a character study of a difficult personality, a charming, enigmatic victim of self-sabotage.
Two things that the British know that most Americans don't: Michael Sheen is the best actor in the English-speaking world; and soccer is the only football that matters.
Michael Sheen is pitch perfect again in this tale of a man and his ego
'The Damned United' is a soccer movie that's really about a man's struggle with his most dangerous opponent--his own ego.
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