Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Tells this story in a straightforward, calm way that works ideally as the chronicle of a man's life but perhaps less ideally as drama.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) gives a quietly focused performance in the title role, ably assisted by Brett Rice as Jones's father, Jeremy Northam as golf rival Walter Hagen, and Malcolm McDowell as sportswriter O.D. Keeler.

Variety David Rooney

This exceedingly long-winded but classy drama could appeal to the same strain of infrequent, regional moviegoers looking for righteous entertainment that flocked to "The Passion of the Christ."

Boston Globe Ty Burr

This is an old-fashioned sports hagiography of the sort that Gary Cooper used to star in while Teresa Wright sat smiling and worried on the sidelines, and, amazingly, it engages your attention and even respect while trotting out every clubhouse cliche in the book.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

It requires an almost childlike faith to get into the spirit of Stroke of Genius, an old-fashioned willingness to believe that the world was once this way - and might, somehow, become this way again.

Village Voice Mark Holcomb

Despite Herrington's skill at capturing the physicality of the game, Stroke is strictly for golf nuts and masochists--assuming there's a difference.

LA Weekly John Patterson

Sadly for dramatic purposes, Jones' achievements seemed effortless, and the movie could really use the odd Ty Cobb wig-out.

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

The film becomes markedly more entertaining with every appearance by Walter Hagen (Jeremy Northam), Jones' archrival, a raconteur and bon vivant who, though fiercely competitive, enjoyed playing while drunk and clad in a tuxedo.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

There's much to admire in this ambitious indie: top-notch production values, a gallery of evocative period detail (with location work on Scotland's famed St. Andrews' course) and solid performances from a cast .

Entertainment Weekly Staff (Not credited)

It's pleasing to see Jones triumph, digging his way out of sand traps with miraculous wedge shots, but ''Stroke of Genius'' is proof that when a movie is nothing but inspirational, it can sink and disappear into a field of dreams.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

What a shame to squander the dramatic riches of Jones's life on third-rate caricature and paint-by-numbers storytelling.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

True-blue golf buffs should find it a treat. For others it's no deeper than a tin cup on a putting green.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

It isn't that Bobby Jones is especially bad. It's just not especially good, either.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Ultimately, the more intensely you buy into the notion that golf is a complex metaphor for the human condition, the more susceptible you'll be to the film's insipid blandishments.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

Marred by a flat, conservative script and an overreliance on the tried and true. It feels like a movie we've seen before.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

It's too bad. Jones deserved better than a biopic with a TV-movie heart.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Though lovingly crafted and beautifully photographed, the movie does little to make Jones seem compelling, or even all that good.

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

It's passable, but in telling the tale of a man known to attempt the risky drive, it's a shame the filmmakers decided to shoot for par.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

It's too much feel-good movie to take in one sitting, but Stroke of Genius captures just enough detail from the greatest sportsman you've never heard of to keep the historical drama interesting.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

A high-minded, lethally dull biography of the legendary golfer Bobby Jones.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Duller than a rain delay on the Golf Channel.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

I love golf, history and good stories, and I found this to be among the most boring, flat and cliched sports movies I've ever seen.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

A sluggish meander through the life of the man considered by many to be a deity of golfing.

Philadelphia Inquirer David Hiltbrand

Bobby Jones plays out much like a round of golf - slow, old-fashioned, tediously long, and lacking in drama.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Sluggish, uninspired drama.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Even the staunchest of golfheads must know they're watching a cut-and-trite accounting.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

It seems nothing is left out, and the movie makes us begin to feel as though we've witnessed every swing the man ever swung.

Chicago Tribune Rick Kogan

It was Mark Twain who famously said, "Golf is a good walk spoiled." I'm telling you that Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius is 120 minutes wasted.