Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 78% based on 206 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A life-affirming, if saccharine, epic treatment of a spirit-lifting figure in sports history".[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A on scale of A to F.[7]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, and wrote: "The movie's races are thrilling because they must be thrilling; there's no way for the movie to miss on those, but writer-director Gary Ross and his cinematographer, John Schwartzman, get amazingly close to the action."[8]
Accolades
| Group | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | Top Box Office Films | Randy Newman | Won |
| 76th Academy Awards[9] | Best Picture | Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Gary Ross | Nominated |
| Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) | Gary Ross | Nominated | |
| Best Art Direction | Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall; Set Decoration: Leslie Pope | Nominated | |
| Best Cinematography | John Schwartzman | Nominated | |
| Best Costume Design | Judianna Makovsky | Nominated | |
| Best Film Editing | William Goldenberg | Nominated | |
| Best Sound Mixing | Andy Nelson,Anna Behlmer andTod A. Maitland | Nominated | |
| 54th ACE Eddie Awards | Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic | William Goldenberg | Nominated |
| 2003 American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases | John Schwartzman | Won |
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2003 | Best Film | Nominated | |
| Best Screenplay | Gary Ross | Nominated | |
| Directors Guild of America Awards 2003 | Outstanding Directing – Feature Film | Gary Ross | Nominated |
| 61st Golden Globe Awards | Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | William H. Macy | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards 2003 | Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Jeff Bridges | Nominated |
| Best Art Direction and Production Design | Nominated | ||
| Best Cinematography | John Schwartzman | Nominated | |
| Best Costume Design | Judianna Makovsky | Nominated | |
| Best Editing | William Goldenberg | Nominated | |
| Best Original Score | Randy Newman | Nominated | |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Gary Ross | Nominated | |
| Best Sound | Nominated | ||
| 10th Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role | Chris Cooper | Nominated |
| Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Elizabeth Banks, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, William H. Macy, Tobey Maguire, and Gary Stevens | Nominated | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards 2003 | Best Adapted Screenplay | Gary Ross | Nominated |
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #50[10]
