The Game of Their Lives

Play trailer

The Game of Their Lives

PG

2005

1h 36m

History

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

26%

Tomatometer

35 Reviews

55%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

The U.S. soccer team (Gerard Butler, Wes Bentley, Jay Rodan) are heavy underdogs as they prepare to play the British squad in a 1950 World Cup preliminary game.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

An enthusiastic but ultimately uninspired soccer film.

Read Critics Reviews

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

Director David Anspaugh has a skilled touch, but there's just not that much drama to film. This is a very competent, very predictable sports film.

Apr 25, 2005

Full Review

Peter Hartlaub

San Francisco Chronicle

...disappointingly mediocre...

Apr 22, 2005

Full Review

Robert Koehler

Variety

...lacks even a penalty kick's worth of tension and is paradoxically inert for a movie about guys running up and down the pitch for the glory of the U.S.

Apr 22, 2005

Full Review

Heather Boerner

Common Sense Media

Great game, bad storytelling. Soccer buffs only.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 18, 2010

Full Review

Bruce Feld

Film Journal International

the narrative and dialogue club us over the head in an effort to make 21st-century viewers understand why the victory of America's team over England was of such monumental importance.

Mar 1, 2007

Full Review

Eric D. Snider

EricDSnider.com

Rated: C

Oct 11, 2006

Full Review

Read all reviews

Jeff S

A true underdog story.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Wonderful true story about a soccer team from the US facing insurmountable odds on the world stage.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/01/20

Full Review

steve d

The story is great, though the script struggles to capture it, good thing the acting helped the writers out.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

hardy c

I preface this review with a fact: I love soccer. I play it, I watch it, I read about it. But here's an unfortunate fact also; I have never seen a decent movie about the game I adore. Starting with the dreadful "Victory" , a film mangled by Sly Stallone, there has been nothing but a string of poor cinema typified by bad directing, shoddy screenwriting, abysmal scene shooting and indifferent acting. Alas, "The Game of Their LIves" is just another sad addition to that Hall of Shame. Arguably one of the greatest upsets in the history of any sport (up there with the ballyhooed "Miracle on Ice"), this epic event in the 1950 World Cup deserves better than this. The story was weak, the direction plodding, the dialogue an homage to sports cliches and even the soccer scenes looked unnatural and staged. Even soccer fans need to stay away from this dog.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's okay but the real question is...why the fuck did they make a movie about this one game? Why didn't they even hint at the US's 3-1 defeat against Spain a few days before, and why is their mediocre performance in 1950 such a big deal, when the US squad got to the SEMI-FINALS in 1930!! Now that's a story!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

como documento historico no mas...

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

David Anspaugh

Director

Gerard Butler

Frank Borghi

Wes Bentley

Walter Bahr

Jay Rodan

Frank 'Pee Wee' Wallace

Gavin Rossdale

Stanley Mortensen

Costas Mandylor

Charlie 'Gloves' Columbo

Amazing Grace

68%

85%

Amazing Grace

Watchlist

Shadow Magic

73%

67%

Shadow Magic

Watchlist

Eight Men Out

87%

80%

Eight Men Out

Watchlist

Apollo 13

94%

87%

Apollo 13

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Apollo 13

The House of Mirth

82%

72%

The House of Mirth

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

The U.S. soccer team (Gerard Butler, Wes Bentley, Jay Rodan) are heavy underdogs as they prepare to play the British squad in a 1950 World Cup preliminary game.

Director: David Anspaugh
Producer: Howard Baldwin, Karen Elise Baldwin, Greg Johnson, Peter Newman, Ginger T. Perkins
Screenwriter: Angelo Pizzo
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Crusader Entertainment LLC
Rating: PG (Some Mild Language|Thematic Elements)
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 2005, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 7, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $375.5K
Runtime: 1h 36m

Most Popular at Home Now