The Final Season
User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9

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  1. ChadS.
    Apr 16, 2008
    6
    Same nickname, different sport, but the same theme that ran through Kenneth A. Carlson's "Go Tigers!", the 2001 documentary about a small town's obsession with its football team, runs through "The Final Season", as well. Which is: People should get a life. When an Iowaian school board votes to shut down Norway High School and have it merge with a sister school, a bigger school, academics is brought up briefly, only given lip service, by a woman with two college-aged children, before much of the town hall hubbub returns to, and revolves around the tiny high school's decorated baseball team. In "Go Tigers!", we can see with alarming clarity how those sports-minded townsfolk have their priorities all mixed up. In a sports call-in show, one concerned football fan complains that the Masillion players are hitting the books too hard. The father of a Norway player in "The Final Season" attends his son's game against doctor's orders, despite the possibility of imminent death. "The Final Season" treats this unflagging loyalty as cute, not demented, but that's because this "Hoosiers" for baseball purists slathers on so much corn syrup, fanaticism gets sugar-coated. "The Final Season" doesn't see a problem with a culture that's centered around the fortunes of its high school sports teams. There's no sane person like the Barbara Hershey character in the David Anspaugh-directed film about Indiana high school basketball, who speaks as an advocate for education. In the postscript, no mention is made about the academic progress of the transplanted Norway student body. Like most people when it comes to academic institutions, "The Final Season" seems only concerned about the school's athletic programs. The bigger school, we learn, has yet to produce a championship season. But is that a tragedy, if the kids of Norway are receiving a better education?… Expand
  2. GayleneR.
    Feb 19, 2008
    9
    Great family film with terrific values and discussion points. If you love baseball it will push all your buttons.
  3. ToddB.
    Oct 23, 2007
    10
    Never trust a movie critic. This was a good movie that my family and friends loved, so much that the audience all cheered at the end. Make an effort to see it you won't be sorry.
  4. R.J.
    Oct 14, 2007
    7
    The baseball scenes in this movie were a lot of fun! It was pretty hard to not get caught up in the energy and excitement, even if you knew the ending.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
43 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 16
  3. Negative: 2 out of 16
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    40
    Poor writing, an indifferent production and sincere but often wooden acting make "Season" one big strikeout.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: John Anderson
    50
    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.
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  3. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Toddy Burton
    11
    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.
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