This narrowly focused, devotional film details (to a fault) how a rag-tag assemblage of Sunday soccer players defied all odds in achieving an American dream.
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03/25/05
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The Game of Their Lives (2005)
25
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:8
Rotten:24
Average Rating:4.5/10
Consensus: An enthusiastic but ultimately uninspired soccer film.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating]
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Apr 22, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $369,168
Synopsis: From the creators of Rudy and Hoosiers, based on a true story, "The Game of Their Lives" follows the US National Soccer Team, which shows that with passion and commitment, anything is possible –... [More]
Starring: Gerard Butler, Wes Bentley, Jay Rodan, Gavin Rossdale
Director: David Anspaugh
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Reviews for The Game of Their Lives
David and Goliath roll in their graves.
04/21/05
History loves underdogs. And so do director David Anspaugh and writer Angelo Pizzo.
04/21/05
Top CriticThe maker of Hoosiers and Rudy barely makes do with the soccer-themed drama The Game of Their Lives.
04/21/05
Top CriticA treat for soccer fans who have yet to see their favorite game given its due on the big screen. This won't be a classic soccer movie, but it's a start.
09/28/06
Like a corner kick that doesn't quite bend, Game is a faithful, straightforward docudrama that fails to become something more rewarding.
04/21/05
Top CriticIt's difficult to muster dislike for The Game of Their Lives, which is reasonably interesting, but it needed more grit and inspiration than this straightforward account can provide.
04/22/05
Top CriticThe Game of Their Lives covers its story like an assignment, not like a mission.
04/21/05
Top Criticthe narrative and dialogue club us over the head in an effort to make 21st-century viewers understand why the victory of America's team over England was of such monumental importance.
03/01/07
The Game of Their Lives takes a standard inspirational sports movie structure.
05/09/05
...this soccer tale is about as exciting to watch as a scoreless match between opponents so defense-minded the ball never gets beyond midfield.
04/22/05
Top Critic...disappointingly mediocre...
04/22/05
Top CriticThe Game of Their Lives has a great sports story to tell, yet the filmmakers fumble it away.
04/22/05
Top CriticPure, unadulterated sentiment served up with a straight face, The Game of Their Lives is a middling depiction of one of the all-time great underdog stories in sports history.
04/22/05
...lacks even a penalty kick's worth of tension and is paradoxically inert for a movie about guys running up and down the pitch for the glory of the U.S.
04/22/05
Top CriticA sentimental, creaky, underwritten, overloaded picture that fails as character study, period film, sports movie and heart-stirrer.
06/03/05
Too many references to the inevitable popularity of soccer in America make [the film] less about the players' lives and more about selling soccer as a spectator sport.
04/22/05
The sequences of the actual games are extraordinarily realistic...
04/03/05
These guys give a sport that is virtually nameless in the movies a good name in this one.
04/22/05
Top CriticA victory by the upstart U.S. team over a 'highly regarded' English squad in the 1950 World Cup is the basis for this extremely selective flashback.
04/21/05
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