| 90 |
Variety
Immensely entertaining and unabashedly inspirational.
|
| 88 |
Chicago Sun-Times
One of the best elements of the movie is in breaking free, he is respecting his father. This movie has deep values.
|
| 88 |
Chicago Tribune
A family tale, in the best sense. [19 February 1999, Tempo, p.4]
|
| 88 |
ReelViews
With its lack of car chases, fist fights, and over-the-top melodrama, the film has to rely on solid acting, an intelligent script, and capable directing.
|
| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
One of the most unfashionable movies of the new year, and one of the more appealing. [19 February 1999, Calendar, p.F-10]
|
| 80 |
Washington Post
It makes a great point: Love, honor and respect your father, but then get the hell out of town.
|
| 80 |
Slate
At its best, the movie evokes that blend of thrill and terror that comes from mixing two chemicals together without being sure that an instant later you'll still be standing there in one piece.
|
| 80 |
Village Voice
Gary Dauphin
A professionally crafted family film that reserves all its challenging moments for its characters, letting the audience bask comfortably in the approach of a predetermined warm and fuzzy ending.
|
| 75 |
Entertainment Weekly
Troy Patterson
Duller than rocket science and more reliant on formulas.
|
| 75 |
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Now if that isn't an inspirational story, it's hard to know what is.
|
| 75 |
USA Today
The finale, which utilizes vintage home movies to show us the real people we've just seen portrayed, packs a wallop. [19 February 1999, Life, p.13E]
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
This film is family.
|
| 75 |
Rolling Stone
The film is rich in period flavor and refreshingly unhip.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Examiner
David Armstrong
While this movie hasn't many surprises, it does offer strong performances, especially from Gyllenhaal.
|
| 75 |
Christian Science Monitor
Here's hoping other filmmakers will follow its spirit, if not all of its methods.
|
| 70 |
Chicago Reader
The movie manages to push buttons without seeming formulaic.
|
| 70 |
The New York Times
Despite its "based on a true story" opening credit, this earnest, nostalgic film has a way of seeming too good to be true.
|
| 70 |
Washington Post
Paint-by-numbers feel-gooder, in which Homer and his friends decide to win a national science fair for their little town and, ultimately, for America.
|
| 60 |
Film Threat
Tom Meek
Cooper who was so poignant in "Lone Star," gives an emotionally robust performance.
|
| 60 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Offers a strange mix of sentimentality and social criticism, sometimes mixing the two to awkward effect.
|
| 50 |
TV Guide
The film's most fully realized performance is Chris Cooper's.
|
| 50 |
Austin Chronicle
October Sky falls flat (despite its rich tone and some startling cinematography by Fred Murphy) due to its all-too-obvious third act and the vague fact that, really, not that much happens.
|
| 40 |
Dallas Observer
Michael Sragow
October Sky may be set around coal mines, but ultimately it's Field of Corn, Part II.
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