Forever StrongMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Forever Strong."

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Avg. Critic Score: 37 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
11 OK for kids 11+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 63
    TV Guide | Maitland McDonagh

    There's something disheartening about seeing real-life stories and their inevitable complexities put through the Hollywood sausage machine and transformed into bland parables about a privileged, wayward young bucks redeemed by wise, infinitely patient mentors and the self-abnegating spirit of team sports. Read full review

  • 58
    Entertainment Weekly |

    Despite all the macho posturing, the corny story is just as sappy as anything on Lifetime. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Sheri Linden

    This inspirational sports drama unfolds in such generic fashion that it feels contrived more often than it rings true. Read full review

  • 50
    Village Voice |

    Though director Ryan Little puts together a clean, professional package, at bottom this is a nearly-two-hour scrum of therapeutic direct encounters. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times |

    The movie is well shot and edited, the rugby scenes are enjoyable (if likely puzzling to the uninitiated) and "Strong's" earnestness excuses at least some of its predictability. Read full review

  • 50
    Variety | Joe Leydon

    The performances are credible across the board, excessive sentimentality is largely avoided, and the sequences devoted to rough-and-tumble rugby match-ups are expertly shot and edited. Read full review

  • 42
    The Onion A.V. Club | Noel Murray

    Forever Strong is generic faith-and-redemption fare, devoid of nuance. Read full review

  • 20
    The New York Times | Jeannette Catsoulis

    A mawkish drama hobbled by a thoroughly unpleasant and uncharismatic lead performance. Read full review

  • 12
    New York Post | V.A. Musetto

    If the script serves any purpose at all, it is to allow jocks to show off their buff bodies. They're hot, but not worth 12 bucks at the box office. Read full review

View more reviews for Forever Strong on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 11+ Uplifting jock drama is predictable but OK for older tweens.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this bad-boy-makes-good-on-the-team drama includes scenes of alcohol- and drug-fueled partying, and consequences (one fatality) occur because of drunken driving. There is some blood in the roughhouse rugby action. A juvenile prison environment includes fistfights and references to drugs. Though the bad-boy main character reforms his errant ways, he gets persecuted by his former friends and teammates for doing so.
  • Families can talk about the appeal of rugby, AKA English football, a sport with an avid following in much of the world, but not yet predominant in the USA. Ask kids if they think the ethical code and nobility of the Highlander team here can translate just as easily to basketball, hockey, baseball, or whatever team sports they follow. The DVD extras explains more about the native New Zealand "Haka" ritual, warrior-honor, spirituality, and tribal traditions, which can be discussed in and out of sports contexts (see the family movie Whale Rider in particular for a good New Zealand Maori drama).
The good stuff
  • message true5 Positive messages: While the main character starts out as a hard-drinking, self-centered hotshot on and off the field (and in jail), he evolves to embrace higher principles of  "honor," forgiveness, sobriety, and sportsmanship/spirituality. With no denomination specifically mentioned but references to the "Father in Heaven," the Highland team are a prayerful group; pre-game ceremonies even invoke blessings and respect for opposing teams, and they participate in community charities and good-Samaritanship. Multiculturalism prevails on the ethnically mixed team, with particular attention to Pacific islanders and Maori of New Zealand.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: Rugby action and tackles sometimes result in bloody noses and wounds. Off-field scuffling. Brief, non-explicit shot of drunken car accidents, one fatal.
  • sex false1 Sex: Brief scenes of affectionate teens in bikinis and swimsuits around the pool. Mild sex innuendo ("Rugby's not the only thing I'm good at").
  • language false1 Language: No verbal profanity, but characters make middle-finger gestures.
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Mostly product labels of rugby-gear manufacturers.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Teens raucously drink and party, including the bad-boy hero; when he sobers up, his former friends turn against him. Consequences shown in more than one drunk-driving tragedy. Athlete Rick takes narcotics. A laundry-list of jailhouse drugs is recited.
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Forever Strong Movie Ratings + Reviews

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