Madison Reviews
Top CriticYou've seen a movie that has the exact same scene after scene and the sport's just been different.
About.com
The story may be based on true events, but there's no hint of honesty to the way situations play out.
Full Review
| Original Score: D
Madison brings us the news that miracles really can happen, and an apparent case of divine intervention is the only reason this artifact is being dumped into theaters.
| Original Score: 1.5/4
The music swells on cue with patriotic harmonies. And the head nods, narcotized by uplift.
Full Review
| Original Score: C-
That Madison would emerge from this thrilling chapter in its history as one of the biggest tourist towns in the Midwest is the film's one genuine surprise.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
There isn't a scene, an action or a character that rings true, yet the narrative summary of the events that inspired it is a matter of record.
Full Review
| Original Score: 1/4
A stubbornly up-with-people schmaltzfest, it's the kind of corn that gives angst a good name.
Full Review
| Original Score: 1.5/4
Christianity Today
Madison only reinforces stereotypes that 'old-fashioned' and 'small-town' mean 'good' while 'modern' and 'big city' mean 'bad.'
| Original Score: 1.5/4
Reel Film Reviews
...the film's storyline follows an exceedingly familiar trajectory.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
Filmcritic.com
only naïve adolescents with no prior film knowledge will stomach the pap
Full Review
| Original Score: 1/5
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
A truly inspiring story, but the filmmakers do it no favors ... [Still], you can't help but grin when those improbable thunderboats go full-tilt.
Neither Madison the town nor Madison the movie ever feels fully inhabited.
Peddles condescending hokum as heartland values.
New Times
...unless your specific field of interest happens to be hydroplane boats in small towns, it's unlikely you'll be excited by Madison.
Near-comic predictability, 'What else could go wrong?' plotting and cliche-ridden screenplay sink it.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
It's so busy wallowing in the agony of defeat that it never gets around to conveying that tangible thrill of victory.
L.A. Weekly
If not for the race sequences and the intriguing presence of Caviezel ... the film would amount to a well-intentioned snooze.
Only moviegoers who care about nitrous-oxide injection systems or Madison itself are likely to appreciate it.
| Original Score: 2/5
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The sport deserves a much better movie.
Full Review
| Original Score: C
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Even though it's based on a true story, writer-director William Bindley and his cowriting brother, Scott, manage to squeeze just about every sports-movie cliché ever invented into this tale.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/5
