Billy Bob Thornton, Connie Britton, Derek Luke

A drama that chronicles the entire 1988 season of the Permian High Panthers of Odessa, Texas, with football players, coaches, mothers, fathers, pastors, boosters, fans and families struggling with ong...( read more  read more... )oing personal conflicts while the team fights for a state championship. A town for sale, Odessa, Texas has seen better days--the financial bust evident in its boarded-up shops and broken lives. Yet one hope sustains the community where, once a week during the fall, the town and its dreams come alive beneath the dazzling and disorienting Friday night-lights. When the Permian High Panthers take to the field. In a city where economic uncertainty has eroded the spirit of its inhabitants, nearly everyone seeks comfort in the religion of the Friday night ritual, where the unfulfilled dreams of an entire community are shifted onto the shoulder pads of a team of high-school athletes.

Flixster Users

84% liked it

166,725 ratings

Critics

81% liked it

162 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: Peter Berg

Release Date: October 8, 2004

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DVD Release Date: January 18, 2005

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Stats: 8,654 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (8,654)


  • June 17, 2008
    Very good movie. Much like other sports movies, this one was very motivational.
  • May 27, 2008
    The football movie is a pretty tried and true formula. But, where many others are predictable and fairly shallow, Friday Night Lights takes an insightful look into the players and their motivation. The intricacies of American football do not translate well to an international aud...( read more)ience, but the non-sporty moments more than make up for that. The spirit of these young men is inspiring and my goodness, those Texans really love their football.
  • May 1, 2008
    Football movies. You either love them or hate them. Me - I don't mind watching them, I don't find them particularly interesting but I can survive watching one. This is one of the better ones that I have seen, probably because of the cast including Billy Bob Thornton. And it was e...( read more)njoyable to watch.

    I can imagine that there's not too many possibilities of what to include in a sports movie like this, but they made it as interesting as it could be. It's not like they just go out and play football and they win or loose. It's much more than that. I really liked the way that each of the key players in the team were explored more with their family life etc. They don't just go out and play football. And we were shown in great extent the relationships of the players to the coach, rather than him just shouting out what was to happen during the game.

    I have said it before and I will say it again, Billy Bob Thornton can ace any role. In this case though, there wasn't as much to the coach as some of his other characters, but he still delivered a solid performance. It was nice to see stars like Lucas Black in this film too, another great performance from one of his earlier films. I am a huge fan of Garrett Hedlund so for me he was outstanding, I loved seeing him as one of the players. There were some other great actors in this film, some performances not as good as others. But I can settle with saying the acting in this was well above average, two thumbs up to that!

    The rating would be higher for me if I really liked these football movies. It definitely gets 3 stars for the acting, amazing cast and a story more than just any other sport film would have. See it for yourself if it sounds like your kind of movie. Otherwise, if you can't stand football movies, steer clear of this. Enjoy it!
  • January 22, 2008
    He misses the last TD by half a yard.
  • October 24, 2007
    One of the best sports movies ever made. A powerful, compelling and gripping emotional powerhouse. The characters and the story and incrediably inspirational. Billy Bob Thorton is electrifying.
  • November 6, 2009
    tim Mcgraw...what a shame for a role play but thats good.
  • October 29, 2009
    Best film about high school football.
  • October 29, 2009
    !Comercial or Stupid! :|
  • September 23, 2009
    This isn't a standard flick, or like that dreaded "Tv Spin-off", it is gutwrenching and a great fiulm. A must see for any sports fan.
  • September 13, 2009
    such an anomaly for me, since i usually didn't like american football movie that much, but this movie is different

Critic Reviews


October 8, 2004
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

People who like sports movies will love Friday Night Lights, but so will people who don't like sports movies and would never think of seeing a high school football game. full review

October 8, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie demonstrates the power of sports to involve us; we don't live in Odessa and are watching a game played 16 years ago, and we get all wound up. full review

October 7, 2004
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Peter Berg directs this Texas high school football extravaganza in a tough, gritty style that gives it an unusually fine and vivid sense of place. full review

October 7, 2004
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Berg takes you so deep into the action, you can hear the bones crunch. full review

October 7, 2004
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

As football movies go, it's a great one. full review

October 7, 2004
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

The film feels like an anthology of cliches from a hundred football movies. full review

October 6, 2004
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Director Peter Berg's adaptation is the cinematic equivalent of a recovered fumble: not disastrous, but also not terribly good. full review

View more Friday Night Lights reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Friday Night Lights Trivia


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