79
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Baltimore SunMichael SragowBaltimore SunMichael SragowUproarious, moving and thrilling.
- 90The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisFilmmaker Kevin Rafferty makes the case for remembrance and for the art of the story in his preposterously entertaining documentary Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, preposterous at least for those of us who routinely shun that pagan sacrament.
- 90VarietyVarietyHow many thrillers could put the outcome in the title and still provide as many white-knuckle moments as Harvard Beats Yale 29-29?
- 88Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaNot just a great sports movie, Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 captures a pivotal moment in recent history.
- 80SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirA ripping good yarn, like a Fitzgerald short story rewritten by John Updike, with an uproarious, impossible Hollywood ending.
- 80Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranBoth an irresistible human story and as fine a documentary on football as "Hoop Dreams" was on basketball.
- 75Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsThe film isn't much as cinema, but it doesn't really matter. The final half-hour, in particular, generates the sort of suspense you rarely get in a sports documentary.
- 75Boston GlobeBoston GlobeThe larger point Harvard Beats Yale makes, perhaps, is about the inevitability of loss. Many of these men, now in their early 60s, look terrific. Others, let us say, do not. Either way, all of them look very different from the helmeted young athletes of 40 years ago. A sense of mortality shadows the documentary. On or off the gridiron, time is the only opponent who always wins. Even at Harvard, even at Yale.
- 70Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesChicago ReaderJ.R. JonesThe 37 Yale and Harvard players Rafferty interviews are such a rich and articulate cast of characters that the season leading up to the game and the game itself become an epic story.
- 67The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayMuch like the recent "remember when" documentary "Man On Wire," Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 builds strong momentum in its home stretch, and sends the audience out on a high.