Friday Night Lights ***1/2
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Garrett Hedlund, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Lee Jackson, Lee Thomspson Young, Tim McGraw
Director: Peter Berg
Running Length: 1:57
MPAA Classification: PG-13

"Friday Night Lights" is the true story of the 1988 Odessa-Permian high school football team and their quest for the state championship. They are one of the best teams in West Texas, and Friday nights are for high school football. Everything in town stops so that all can go to the game. Tremendous pressure is put on the kids and the coaches to win. The star of the team is James "Boobie" Miles (Luke), a cocky kid who definately believes all the hype about him until a early season knee injury turns his world on end. Stepping up to fill the void are quarterback Mike Winchell (Black) and running backs Don Billingsley (Hedlund) and Chris Comer (Young). But will they have what it takes to fill that void? Coach Gary Gaines (Thornton) thinks so, and as the season moves on, he finds himself receiving both the love and the hatred of the town depending on whether they are winning or losing.

There is a lot going on in this movie, both on and off the field, and the story flows smoothly back and forth. After all, everything going on off the field is still football related, and plays into the story quite prominently. Running through it all is the immense pressure to win. This is not your typical sports movie, and the final game drives home the point of the whole movie. This is a very good movie, with solid performances all around, expecially by the mostly unknow actors playing the kids. This movie is for anyone who has ever been involved in the phenomenon of high school football. For those people, it will strike a real chord. For everyone else, it will still be an enjoyable, emotional experience that should not be missed.