The Final SeasonMovie Reviews

Poster art for "The Final Season."

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 43 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
8 Iffy for 8+
Read Common Sense Media review

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

  • 63
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Steven Rea

    There's a sign on the way into Norway, or at least a sign that somebody from the film crew put up: "On the eighth day, God created baseball." If amen is your answer to that, then The Final Season is the movie for you. Read full review

  • 60
    L.A. Weekly |

    Formulaic but not cynical, The Final Season has some sweet, thoughtful passages in what is otherwise just one more well-meaning inspirational sports movie. Read full review

  • 50
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    The movie is decent and heartfelt, and it eventually settles into some sharp diamond action, but the small-town homilies are dropped like an anvil. If you thought 1993's "Rudy" was too spare and unsentimental, Final Season is for you. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post |

    Nathan Wang's score borrows blatantly from "The Natural" and is slathered on thick in all the big emotional scenes. They establish the right nostalgic mood, but it's broken with that loud "ping" of a metal bat every time a kid gets a hit. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Follows a predictable format. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times |

    In a movie where the timing of a squeeze bunt is presented as the thing of beauty that it is, and the eradication of small-town culture in a changing world is a genuine concern, the simplifying countrified morality of The Final Season is the real crying shame. Read full review

  • 50
    Variety |

    There's not quite as much corn in The Final Season as there is in the Iowa farm fields that run through it, but it's close. Read full review

  • 42
    The Onion A.V. Club | Scott Tobias

    All these stereotypes are meant to exalt small-town values, but The Final Season is proof that it's hard to paint masterpiece in broad strokes. Read full review

  • 40
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    Poor writing, an indifferent production and sincere but often wooden acting make "Season" one big strikeout. Read full review

  • 11
    Austin Chronicle |

    Kind of "Hoosiers": Part 2. But the storytelling is so backassward that it's impossible to care about any of the characters or really engage in the movie whatsoever. Read full review

View more reviews for The Final Season on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 8+ Heartwarming-but-trite drama for baseball fans.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that even though this is rated PG, there's some inappropriate content for the movie's target market -- 8-10-year-olds. One of the movie's central characters, high school student Mitch, acts out because of his mother's recent death. He smokes cigarettes, tries to get some pot, and steals his grandfather's truck. But baseball eventually helps set him back on the right path. There are some intense moments when the team's bus goes off the road in an accident, kids get injured by baseballs, and there's some fighting among the boys. Language includes some fairly strong terms for the PG rating, including "s--t."
  • Families can talk about the fact that this particular tale was based on a true story -- how much of what you see on screen do you think actually happened the way it's portrayed? They can also talk about Mitch's reaction to his mother's death. Do your kids know anyone whose parents have died? How did they respond? You can use this as an opportunity to allay their fears.
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Overall, the movie's message is that finding a hobby and doing something you love can help heal pain. Mitch takes his grandfather's truck without permission and flips Patrick off. Two reporters gamble on a game.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence and scariness: Some baseball-related injuries: A ball hits a catcher's wrist, and Sammy gets hit on the back by a 90-mph fastball. Patrick beats Sammy up (punches, threats). Mitch and Patrick scuffle, and Mitch punches Patrick. The team is involved in a bus accident, but no one is injured.
  • sex false0 Sexy stuff: Kent is shown just in a towel. Patrick is shown just in jeans. Kent and Polly kiss.
  • language false3 Language: Some swearing, including "bulls--t," "hell," "damn," "s--t," "half-assed," and "chicken s--t."
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Billboards at the baseball diamond advertise Pella Windows, Quaker Oats products, Jolly-Time popcorn, Hy-Vee, and Transamerica. The team wears Nike cleats, and Stock wears a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Underage Mitch smokes cigarettes, and his grandfather smokes a cigar -- but both are repeatedly told not to and how bad it is for them. Mitch asks where he can get pot. Polly (an adult) drinks a glass of wine. Roger (also an adult) drinks from a flask.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

3.5

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… a dorky, yearning-to-be-loved movie … Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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The Final Season Movie Ratings + Reviews

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So-so 425 fan reviews

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