Good but not the best.

Rating: 8/10 (6 October 2004)

I recently viewed the movie at a screening on the University of Michigan's campus as the Screenwriter was a Michigan Alum. Friday Night Lights was a good representation of what High School football is like, especially in a community where football is what keeps it together. I enjoyed the movie but it was too much about football, and not about the other important issues like race, and class, and gender. It didn't portray racism and the role it played in Odessa, Texas in the 1980s. There was maybe one scene in the beginning that touched upon it then maybe one or two more near the end. Not nearly enough for the amount of racism that was experienced in the late 80s in Odessa, Texas. The football sequences were heart-pumping to say the least. On the field there was non stop action, it was as if you were on the field with the players and coaches. However, the movie didn't fill the shoes that the critics left for it being arguably the "best sports movie of all time." Nonetheless it was a good movie to experience High School football first hand. Although the basis was like your everyday documentary, this contained some action, comedy, and even some drama. It was a very good sports movie, but not the BEST of all time.