Coach Carter

Play trailer

2:23

Coach Carter

PG-13

Released Jan 14, 2005

2h 16m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

64%

Tomatometer

146 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

In 1999, Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) returns to his old high school in Richmond, California, to get the basketball team into shape. With tough rules and academic discipline, he succeeds in setting the players on a winning streak. But when their grades start to suffer, Carter locks them out of the gym and shuts down their championship season. When he is criticized by the players and their parents, he sticks to his guns, determined that they excel in class as well as on the court.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Even though it's based on a true story, Coach Carter is pretty formulaic stuff, but it's effective and energetic, thanks to a strong central performance from Samuel L. Jackson.

Read Critics Reviews

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Engaging film with a terrific message.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 22, 2010

Full Review

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

This is supposed to be about setting high standards, yet it's full of fudged ultimatums; in the end I couldn't be sure whether its morality was complex or just confused.

Mar 25, 2008

Full Review

Nathan Rabin

AV Club

Samuel L. Jackson shouts, yells, bellows, and screams his way through the fact-inspired film

Oct 6, 2006

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a decent-enough inspirational sports drama...

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 18, 2023

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

The List

Despite the attraction of fluently filmed basketball sequences, director Thomas Carter's simplistic approach to the social and educational issues involved makes this vacuous MTV-produced movie fall well short of the basket.

Rated: 2/5

Apr 23, 2019

Full Review

Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

A quality sports drama.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 27, 2018

Full Review

Read all reviews

Oscar W

Many life lessons to be learnt from this influential film. Alike many other fans, I appreciate Samuel L Jackson’s work and he does not disappoint here, an inclusive and thrilling story of the revival of a school basketball team and much more.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/12/24

Full Review

Stewart D

This is the team big performance by all

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/08/24

Full Review

Rich S

If it's not the second best high-school basketball movie -- behind only the 1986 Gene Hackman-coached film, "Hoosiers." --I would argue that it's the most important movie of its kind. Samuel L. Jackson leaves most of the vulgarity outside the movie set and turns in an admirable performance as Coach Ken Carter. Interestingly, Jackson gives a speech to his team that admonishes them about the derogatory use of those words and the disrespect it casts on their ancestors. That message alone is enough to make this a worthwhile film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/31/24

Full Review

Josh H

It's a great movie, but the ending isn't great.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/28/24

Full Review

William B

One of the best sports movies, this is coming from someone who doesn't really like sports movies.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/11/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Favorite basketball movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/10/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Thomas Carter

Director

Samuel L. Jackson

Coach Ken Carter

Robert Ri'chard

Damien Carter

Rob Brown

Kenyon Stone

Ashanti

Kyra

Debbi Morgan

Tonya

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Coach Carter: Official Clip - The Final Shot

1:55

Coach Carter: Official Clip - Push-Ups and Suicides

2:07

Coach Carter: Official Clip - Richmond vs. Bay Hill

2:04

Coach Carter: Official Clip - Not Your Storybook Ending

2:13

Coach Carter: Official Clip - Timeout Pep Talk

1:56

Coach Carter: Official Clip - Come-from-Behind Win

2:11

Coach Carter: Official Clip - Our Deepest Fear

1:59

Coach Carter: Official Clip - First Practice

2:12

Coach Carter: Official Clip - A Better Life

2:09

View more videos

Friday Night Lights

82%

85%

Friday Night Lights

Watchlist

Freedom Writers

70%

87%

Freedom Writers

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Freedom Writers

Resurrecting the Champ

61%

60%

Resurrecting the Champ

Watchlist

The Great Debaters

80%

86%

The Great Debaters

Watchlist

Swimming Upstream

61%

80%

Swimming Upstream

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New on Netflix in May 2022

Box Office Guru Preview: Six New Films Try to Shoot Down Spartans From #1 Spot

Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Stomp" Steps All Over New Releases

Coach Carter: Trailer 1

2:23

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

In 1999, Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) returns to his old high school in Richmond, California, to get the basketball team into shape. With tough rules and academic discipline, he succeeds in setting the players on a winning streak. But when their grades start to suffer, Carter locks them out of the gym and shuts down their championship season. When he is criticized by the players and their parents, he sticks to his guns, determined that they excel in class as well as on the court.

Director: Thomas Carter
Producer: Brian Robbins, Michael Tollin
Screenwriter: Mark Schwahn
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: MTV Films, Tollin/Robbins Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Sexual Content|Language|Some Drug Material|Teen Partying|Violence)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 14, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $67.3M
Runtime: 2h 16m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Most Popular at Home Now