69
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe devastating effects of head injuries in sports are detailed in Steve James' wrenching documentary.
- 83The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasHead Games is particularly devastating when it shifts from the NFL and NHL, where brutality and headshots are a given, to girls' soccer and under-14 football leagues, where still-developing young necks and skulls make kids perhaps more vulnerable to head trauma than their professional counterparts.
- 80Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranIt's a complex, determined look at one of the most pernicious problems facing organized sports on all levels.
- 80The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottHead Games gains credibility and power from compassion for athletes and respect for their accomplishments. But it also tries to open the eyes of sports lovers to dangers that have too often been minimized and too seldom fully understood.
- Finally, there's a sports movie for people who are caught between admiration and fear of athleticism. Neither a triumphant underdog like "Rudy" nor a total weepie like "The Pride of the Yankees," Head Games also deals with the illnesses and premature deaths of talented players.
- 70Parents could be making their kids wear helmets to the library by the conclusion of helmer Steve James' science-and-sports docu Head Games, which scores solid hits on everyone from the NFL down to peewee hockey as it links contact sports, concussions and those calling for widespread reformation of the nation's athletic philosophies and priorities.
- 60Time OutTime OutThe results are, cinematically speaking, a little diffuse, but any parent who's contemplating whether they should sign their kids up for Pop Warner this fall may want to watch this first.
- 50Slant MagazineJesse CataldoSlant MagazineJesse CataldoWhile Steve James's documentary is persuasive on an informational level, it doesn't do enough to explore the human side of its subject matter.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceWhile Head Games does feature a number of articulate and consistently intelligent talking-head interviews, it's ultimately not a satisfying advocacy documentary.
- 40New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanDirector Steve James ("Hoop Dreams") has a worthy message, but never makes the case that he needs an entire documentary to deliver it.