60
Metascore
17 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Washington PostWashington PostA wholesome, engaging, frequently hilarious, ultimately inspirational film.
- 90The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubThough it certainly has faults, which only the extremely nostalgic could ignore, the film bests its contemporaries through its ability to unite childlike comedy and adult concerns without ever obscuring one with the other.
- 80VarietyLeonard KladyVarietyLeonard KladyDirector Jon Turteltaub has a fresh, uncluttered approach to the story that allows its natural warmth and humor to dominate. The classic underdog script provides a positive minority perspective without the usual downside, self-conscious righteousness.
- 80The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinA cute, buoyant sports fantasy, jolted along by a reggae soundtrack and playfully acted by an appealing cast. This new Disney comedy is slick, funny and warmhearted, very much in the old-fashioned Disney mode.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe problem with a story like this is that it's almost too perfect. It tends to break out of the boundaries of the typical sports movie, and undermine those easy cliches that are so reassuring to sports fans.
- 60EmpireAngie ErrigoEmpireAngie ErrigoCheesy? Certainly. But strong performances and a heart-warming storyline make this a winner.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineCool Runnings has a great premise: a movie based on the true story of the Jamaican bobsledders who amused the world at the 1988 Olympics. But this Disney film, a stale and out-of-date offering, is far less interesting than seeing the real athletes during the Olympic telecasts.
- 40Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleOften silly but almost never funny -- no matter how often it practices the same jokes.
- 20Time Out LondonTime Out LondonIn his prime, co-writer Michael Ritchie might have turned this into a caustic Downhill Racer or Bad News Bears-style critique of professional sporting values. Director Turteltaub, on the other hand, patronises both characters and audience with daft knockabout humour, tear-jerking sentiment and racial stereotyping which skates on very thin ice.