Under the Stadium Lights

"Under the Stadium Lights" makes no effort to comprehend larger societal and systemic forces; it preaches grit, gumption, and a docile, unquestioning compassion.

Under the Stadium Lights is pee wee by comparison to Peter Berg's All-American.

Though this one doesn't equal the genre's gold standard -- Denzel Washington's Remember the Titans -- the audience can rely on multiple adversity-crushing character arcs, the inevitable Gipper speech and the rousing big-game finale.

It fails to reach for an audience outside of its world.

Between long stretches of TV clips from real-life games, ponderous melodrama unfolds.

Occasional clips of the original games are presented with so little context they seem designed to jog memories rather than advance the drama.

This movie could have been inspiring, but there is so much lousy storytelling going on. The biggest cringe is the fact that every minority character we're introduced to has a stereotypical broken home life.

In the crowded genre of high school football dramas, it just doesnt do enough to distinguish itself from past greats.

Great premise and cast, but a total failure in execution.

In the end, we have a feel-good tale of hope that elevates itself above the typical Hallmark-esque fare.