“Friday Night Lights” – The film expertly pares down the book, but H.G. Bissinger’s story, as sweeping as the west Texas oil country where it’s set, is too big for a two-hour movie. Still, the key moments are there, including a dramatic coin flip to determine Permian’s playoff fate. Hollywood wouldn’t dream up anything that bizarre for a by-the-numbers gridiron flick, so you know it had to be real.
– John Hansen, Brainerd Dispatch, Dec. 23, 2004