55
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100San Francisco ChroniclePeter StackSan Francisco ChroniclePeter StackUsing documentary-style Super 16 film and staged cutaway interviews with friends and family, James and his photographer and co-producer, Peter Gilbert, fashioned a movie with an affecting, candid look.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertWhat sets Prefontaine aside from most sports movies is that it's not about winning the big race. It's about the life of a runner.
- 75San Francisco ExaminerG. Allen JohnsonSan Francisco ExaminerG. Allen JohnsonBut then, just when it appears the race is lost, Steve James' love for his character and art form kicks in and wins the day, and, though flawed, Prefontaine is an engrossing portrait of a complex figure.
- 70SalonSalonThis is filmmaking in a higher-IQ Disney style, frequently verging on terminal sappiness, all heart-quickening-guitar-music, coming-around-the-last-turn, legs-pumping-toward-glory stuff.
- But at best, the movie has an air of immediacy, freeing it from the ossified myth-making that plagues many true-life biopics.
- This successful characterization is definitely a team effort among actor Jared Leto (the brooding Jordan Catalano of television's "My So-Called Life"), writers James and Eugene Corr, cinematographer Peter Gilbert, and musical director Mason Daring.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliFor the most part, the documentary segments, in addition to being unilluminating, are intrusive.
- 60Chicago ReaderLisa AlspectorChicago ReaderLisa AlspectorAs the driven competitor who learns to make hubris work for him, Jared Leto gives a complex performance that suggests a deep, intriguing interior to the character even as he maintains a convincing one-dimensional facade.
- 40The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinBut even after the documentary affectation gives way to a more conventional narrative, the film has trouble ringing true.
- 25Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittThe acting ranges from adequate (Jared Leto, R. Lee Ermey) to awful (Lindsay Crouse and everyone else).