source: The 5th Quarter

This film does an excellent job of portraying how the unexpected death of a young teen affects his family, friends, and community. Have the tissues handy. Wish they had done a better job of including a sister and another brother into the story. Watch through the ending, when they share actual statistics of the Wake Forest football team in 2006. Also how the family moved forward to help others through a group they formed to educate about the organ donor program and the dangers of reckless driving. Yes I recommend it, James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 2/15/2021

I had wanted to see this movie for a while, as I am a really big Aidan Quinn fan, so I was thrilled when I found a copy today! But my hopes were too high for the level of this movie. The story was solid, the acting was decent, but the script was obviously an afterthought to the football footage. The writers never really introduced the viewers to the Abbatte family (what was wrong with the daughter?), gave very little notice to the interactions and reactions of the family as a whole regarding their loss, and basically didn't give the actors much with which to present their characters or to move the story line. With such a good story and a high-caliber cast, this movie could have been a great one, but instead it pretty much just laid down with a whimper. Next time, guys, "FOCUS" on the story, not clips of football plays and cheerleaders. Really a sad treatment of a promising premise.

Sorry but have to agree with many of the other posters on here. This movie had everything to be a great movie and started out really good, but lost something as it went on. I watched it based on the trailer and the fact that Aidan Quinn was in it (love him!) but I have to say I was a little disappointed in it. It seems like they had a great beginning and a decent ending but the middle lacked something. As far as the acting goes, you have to remember that these actors are trying to portray real life people as closely as they can and that may seem why the acting was a bit off. This is a very good movie for teens to watch so they can see the dangers of reckless driving and the importance of being responsible.

Terribly written and directed. Terrible musical interludes in nearly every sequence. Preachy commercials about organ donation and the perils of reckless driving. It's too bad because the film could have been really great. There's a great cast. Films can have a faith-based message without being so heavy-handed, without all the bible thumping and scripture quoting. The idea of a good family coping with the senseless death of a teen-aged son is really a good idea--and one that already won the Oscar for best picture (Ordinary People directed by Robert Redford). This movie may have a slight life on the Netflix circuit--but it looks like it will lose about $5 million dollars. I've had a better film on my teeth.

This is no Blind Side. I had higher hopes for this movie. It seems like a lot of the acting was forced. For the minor characters it felt like they were reading cue cards and talking woodenly. There were lots of missed opportunities to really make this a great movie. The accident was caused by reckless driving where the youngest son in the family is declared brain dead. The angst of a young child lost so soon and the journey of acceptance would have had the makings of this movie. An opportunity was missed in dealing with the culpability of the person who was responsible for the accident. I thought Merriman was a good actor in this part. I thought and so did my daughter that Aidan Quinn overdid the emotion in several scenes. Andie McDowell was SO underused. The dynamic between the husband and wife in dealing with their son's tragedy was never explored. Missed opportunities in this movie give it this low rating.

Years ago, there use to be a dramatic Christian TV show called 'Faith for today', having seen it makes me think that these kinds of new movies are a bit of a modern version of that genre, dramatic Christian programming while at the same time, I have to say, it is not 'overtly' Christian in it's message vs. in comparison say 'Facing the Giants' but only in that Wake Forest is a Christian University, the "Deacs", Demon Deacons. Also in one scene in the Abbate household, I believe one might see a cross on the wall but even that seems a bit unfocused in the background and then, there is a short part in the Church but no "Bible Thumping" by any means. One should not be expecting a Hollywood production. You have to think outside the box. The movie has a message and in the end is moving and does recount that story well. The football action is fairly well done when it shows games. I give it 6 stars as being on the plus side of average. For a "football movie", I'd rate it as about 7 stars actually, interesting when you think of Wake Forest as I do as mainly a basketball power which they are vs. football. It may not be 'Brian's song' or 'The Knute Rockne story' but it might be slightly reminiscent of the feel of those movies and I would think of it as being more along the lines of 'We are Marshall.' It's definitely worth a try. Yeah and parts of it do make me a bit teary eyed. Also, from a sports angle, the parts with South African trainer Steve Uria are good, it makes me think of some of the real exercise parts of the movie 'Hoosiers.' Honestly, if you are into sports, the exercise portions may be something you want to try for yourself. Wake Forest is more famous for it's basketball teams, even at the football game, I saw some of the student supporters jumping up and down which is something I tend to see all the time watching basketball games of some Universities like, I've got to say it, Duke University. So, in the final analysis, I think there is quite a bit to this movie and it is worth watching.

This movie looked halfway decent from the trailer, and even though it appeared corny, we figured that being based on a true story, it would have redeeming qualities. Wrong! The acting in this film is so bad that Aidan Quinn and Andie MacDowell should be banned from ever receiving any future acting awards. The dialog is so terrible, it makes made-for-TV Lifetime movies look good. And the directing / editing just heightens the problems as camera angles accentuate the bad acting. We were able to rent this movie for free due to a coupon from a national DVD rental company. But even at that price, I felt like I was cheated. Think of the worst movie you have ever seen. This one was worse.

It's Football Season again! And Fox Faith just released their film, The 5th Quarter to Blu-ray/DVD this week. Storyline: When a close-knit family is nearly broken by tragedy, hope is restored by their eldest son who carries the weight of victory on his shoulders in THE 5TH QUARTER. One of our KIDS FIRST! youth film critics reviewed it this week: "I just finished watching The Fifth Quarter and I enjoyed it. It's about a boy named Luke who dies in an auto accident because of drunk driving. The story is really about how the family copes with the loss of their 15 year old son and brother. I really like the character John Abbate, Luke's older brother, played by Ryan Merriman. The acting is superb. He couldn't have done a better job. I would say that this movie is for kids 13 and up. There is one little tiny extremely short scene showing some surgery that is disturbing, but there is also a lot of talking and emotion and crying, of course. Any kid younger than 13 would not appreciate that. However, older kids will appreciate the amazing acting. By Sam Connan, Age 13, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. Sam's review is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC90wSHTklg

I'm loving this movie so far and am more than half way through it. Don't pay attention to the haters.If you have a heart you will love this movie. It may not be perfect, but the message is clear. It may not be The Blind Side-but it's a different family.I can't imagine what it must be like to go through what this family went through. I'm a nurse and really appreciate a lot of the scenes especially the ones in the beginning of the film. At least give this movie a chance and make up your own mind. Don't let these negative reviews make up your mind for you without judging for yourself. Believe me, I've seen MANY movies and MANY of them I haven't even been able to get through the first fifteen minutes. This is a good movie. It may not be an Oscar winner, but it is a good movie about a true story, a real family and a community.