95% Moneyball

All Critics (174) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (164) | Rotten (9)

One of the most soulful of baseball movies -- it confronts the anguish of a very tough game.

The real protagonist of Moneyball, however, is Beane himself, played with great charisma by Brad Pitt.

[Pitt] provides ballast and a swaggering humor to a movie that, too often, strives to be The Social Network of baseball movies.

Pitt, who has a producing credit, is not the sole reason this tremendous -- yet intimate -- sports tale soars over the fences. The bench is deep. And the script has a powerful but finessed swing.

Moneyball turns an unlikely subject interesting, making a professional sport the nexus where past and future collide.

Moneyball is exactly like moneyball -- infused with intelligence, amusing in its attacks on false gods, but way easier to admire than to love.

Does a crowd-pleasing job of drawing out the drama, tension and subtle sideline shadings of a story that is essential built on a high-stakes game of numbers.

More closely resembles The Social Network than it does can-of-corn horsehide epics like Field of Dreams or The Natural.

I kept hoping for something about the film to surprise me. Very little did.

Brad Pitt is having a really good year.

Like a businessman settling into his recliner after a hard day's work, Brad Pitt has slid into middle age with an ease that's both pleasurable and enviable to watch.

...isn't really a baseball movie, or even a sports movie - it feels more like a smart procedural from the '70s.

One of the most fascinating star turns of the year.

unfolds smoothly as the kind of baseball movie that even those who couldn't care less about baseball will find engrossing

Moneyball is easy to admire, a bit more difficult to love. That's because the film, like its central character (well played by Brad Pitt), keeps its emotions in check so much of the time.

Tasteful, entertaining, but not entirely satisfying. 'How can you not be romantic about baseball?' Beane asks, twice. A more relevant question might be: How can you be romantic about sabermetrics?

Recognizes that sometimes, happily-ever-afters are more complicated than uplifting Hollywood films can manage.

Pitt is mesmerizing --- he's high-strung and laid-back all at once. It's an Oscar-worthy performance.

Don't be surprised when Brad Pitt's name is announced in the Best Actor category.

It is not easy to make a film about quiet courage and unassuming heroes like these, but this film rises to that challenge and hits one right out of the park.

Brad Pitt may be the big draw but it is Jonah Hill's performance that gives the film its flavor. And when they are both on screen the movie is at its best.

Immediately one of my favorite baseball films, as well as one of my favorite Pitt performances. Only time will tell if I can delete 'one of' from those sentences.

Moneyball is an impelling triple. It's smart, agile, and effective. But it's anti-climactic. Director Bennett Miller and writers Sorkin and Zaillian could swing for a home run, but instead they settle for a base on balls.

A tender reminder that the heart sometimes still matters even if we now live in a technology-driven, Digital Age where machines lead and humans follow.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/moneyball/

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