Trying to recreate the magic of 90’s kids’ sports flicks, writer/director Nicholas Fournier face-plants at the starting line with his running movie, “The Track” — and critics aren’t holding back.
Released Friday in theaters globally, the $125 million film is the baffling follow-up to Fournier’s Oscar Best Picture-nominated debut: “Daisies in the Vegetable Garden.”
“The Track” is clearly a nod to much better films like “The Sandlot”, “Mighty Ducks”, and “Hoosiers.” Unfortunately, audiences aren’t nodding along—they’re nodding off, and shaking their heads as they leave the theater.
The absurd plot centers around a group of 5th grade kids in suburban Indiana who turn their summer boredom into a passion for running. Over a couple of months, the group of misfits meet at an abandoned high school’s track—hence the film’s name—and challenge each other to get better at the sport. The movie is intended as a coming of age story, but it grows stale unbelievably quickly.
Setting aside the total abomination of a script, astonishingly poor direction, and pitiful acting, there are several problems with the film’s subject matter. First and foremost: running is not a team sport—there is an “I” in running. Secondly, we’ve seen time and again, running doesn’t translate well to the big screen. The average person struggles to name any film about running, let alone a single one worth watching.
Additionally, there’s a reason running isn’t one of the main sports aired on television: it’s overly repetitive with no variation in action. There are only so many times you can watch someone put one foot in front of the other while swinging their arms.
Critical reception
Reviews are pouring in—and they’re not good.
- “A sprint to utter stupidity. A marathon of total boredom. An aimless, lifeless jog to absolutely nowhere. Not even an endless supply of energy gels will get you through this one.”
– Kevin T. Porter Jr. III, Rolling Stone - “Forget the worst sports movie, this may be the worst movie ever made. It’s hard to imagine anything taking its crown any time soon. I suffered a stress fracture just from watching it.”
– Alonso Ebiri, Chicago Reader - “Stunningly misguided attempt at creating a wholesome kids’ sports movie. This one was doomed the moment it toed the starting line. I, myself, took a DNF—as in, I did not finish watching it.”
– Soren Henderson, Sydney Morning Herald - “Misfiring on all cylinders, “The Track” sees director Nicholas Fournier in a complete lack of control—of everything. Fournier has hit the metaphorical wall in just his second feature.”
– Peter Franklin Beaumont, The New Yorker - “A wildly inaccurate portrayal of children, running, and life. Warner Brothers should have never fired the starting pistol on this one.”
– Nadia Muller, The Atlantic - “The film’s snail-like pace demands patience, but those willing to wait…will be frustrated with absolutely no pay-off. Just when you think it might go somewhere…it doesn’t. You’d be much better off skipping it and going for a run of your own.”
– Mohammed Khan, Austin Chronicle - “An aggressively bad film. Majorly offensive to the sport of running. I got burned out after just 20 minutes.”
– Lucia J. Valdez, Los Angeles Times - “Illogical story with a Swiss cheese plot and paper-thin characters. It’s like Fournier has never interacted with a human before. No one would ever behave how the characters behave. No one would ever talk how the characters talk. He should have taken a rest day instead.”
– Jeffrey Cartwright, The Washington Post
