Critics Scoreboard
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Average Critic Score:
57
(36 sources)
57
(36 sources)
-
80
Washington Post
This entry in a rather stale genre deserves to be put at the head of the class. Read Full Review » -
75
Miami Herald
Descended from a long and healthy line of high school-sports and academic-achievement films, a hip-hop "Hoosiers" bolstered by a generous helping of "Stand and Deliver" and "Lean On Me." Read Full Review » -
75
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75
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75
Chicago Sun-Times
Jackson has the usual big speeches assigned to all coaches in all sports movies, and delivers on them, big time. His passion makes familiar scenes feel new. Read Full Review » -
75
Chicago Tribune
A true story, feel-good parable and a respectable, uplifting descendent of "To Sir, With Love" and "Lean On Me." Read Full Review » -
75
Philadelphia Inquirer
It's fair to say that Coach Carter is more an education film than it is a sports movie. Read Full Review » -
70
Washington Post
Covers every cliche in the Hollywood sports movie playbook, but it also makes the routine much more enjoyable than you'd expect. Read Full Review » -
70
Film Threat
Unfortunately, the accompanying story threads tend to bog down the action rather than provide contrast between the games. Read Full Review » -
70
Variety
Both an inspirational sports movie and an unexpected multi-level urban drama that plays by its own clock. Read Full Review » -
70
Salon.com
Coach Carter, its flaws aside, is as interesting for what it doesn't do as for what it does. Read Full Review » -
70
New York Magazine
Jackson's wonderfully nuanced, witty performance, and a few unexpected plot turns, give Coach Carter a subtext that helps complicate such knee-jerk oversimplifications, redeeming the role with energetic humor and a loose-limbed grace. Read Full Review » -
67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
While the movie may border on teen exploitation in many scenes, its heart and values are mostly in the right place, and it qualifies its thrill of victory with a very sober message: few high school athletes become NBA millionaires, many are cheated out of an education. Read Full Review » -
63
Boston Globe
Who's it for? How do you put this message across without it seeming medicinal? Sure, MTV is among the movie's producers, but what 11th grader wants to spend a Friday night being hit with such a blunt instrument? Read Full Review » -
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
When [Jackcson]'s not on camera, Coach Carter feels like the two-hour opus it is -- too long, too banal, a bit ridiculous. But when he is, nothing else seems to matter, and how sublime is that. Read Full Review » -
63
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60
LA Weekly
The corniness and predictability feel, if not quite fresh, then not so groaningly stale. Read Full Review » -
60
The New York Times
This may be the coach's story, but to the extent that Coach Carter is interesting rather than merely inspirational, it's because of the team. Read Full Review » -
60
The Hollywood Reporter
Thanks mainly to his (Jackson) considerable presence, Coach Carter works more effectively than expected. Read Full Review » -
60
Wall Street Journal
A smart entertainment that trades on Mr. Jackson's forceful presence, a cast of extremely likable young actors and lots of basketball action. Read Full Review » -
60
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60
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58
Entertainment Weekly
Jackson, though, does lend this earnest formula flick a core of conviction. Read Full Review » -
50
Dallas Observer
Director Thomas Carter (no relation to Ken) relies on processed emotion and stock characters, and not even the inevitable Big Game excites us very much. Read Full Review » -
50
Christian Science Monitor
The movie's moral messages are all on target. Too bad the movie is much, much too long and Jackson gives one of his dullest performances ever. Read Full Review » -
50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Coach Carter eventually curdles into a grim love letter to discipline and accountability, which makes it the perfect sports film for W.'s second term, but not a whole lot of fun. Read Full Review » -
50
Los Angeles Times
So, while the movie at times warmed my own middle-class, private school-educated cockles to a toasty complacency, there's an undercurrent of friendly fascism running through it like a nasty draft. Read Full Review » -
50
ReelViews
The main problem with Coach Carter can be summed up simply: too much sermonizing. Read Full Review » -
50
USA Today
2-1/4 hours of MTV-produced tough love, with a dance break and pool party to relieve -- momentarily -- a series of motivational rants from lead Samuel L. Jackson. Read Full Review » -
50
Portland Oregonian
As it goes on and on and on, Coach Carter becomes more patience-testing than soul-stirring, proving that you can overdose on good intentions as easily as you can on evil substances. Read Full Review » -
50
Village Voice
Proudly wearing its self-righteousness like a letterman jacket, Coach Carter's just an exasperatingly long "The More You Know" commercial starring one first-stringer and the junior varsity. Read Full Review » -
50
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50
Chicago Reader
In the end I couldn't be sure whether its morality was complex or just confused. Like its young athletes, it earns a gentleman's C. Read Full Review » -
50
San Francisco Chronicle
Features bursts of humor and electrifying energy offset by speechifying and a dud of a subplot. Read Full Review » -
40
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38
Rolling Stone
This afternoon-TV special trying to pass as a real movie earns an extra half star solely for Samuel L. Jackson, who brings his usual fire to the role. Read Full Review »
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