"[Bullock is] an irrepressible hoot....[She] goes the distance as an unstoppable, well-coiffed, force of determination."
Hollywood Reporter "[An] uplifting and entertaining feel-good, fact-based sports drama....Bullock is thoroughly convincing in the role..."
Variety 4 stars out of 5 -- "With a career-best performance by Sandra Bullock and a terrific new talent in Quinton Aaron....A compelling portrait of an unlikely bond between two people from opposite sides of the tracks."
Box Office "Grounded in the direct, disarming truth of their experience, the movie has a straightforward lack of cheap sentiment that saves it from being either too maudlin or saccharine-sweet."
Washington Post "[T]his is Bullock's movie. She is Leigh Anne to such a degree you forget you're watching one of the best-known actresses around."
Los Angeles Times 3 stars out of 5 -- "THE SPEED star is certainly as good as she's ever been as the steely Southern Christian who turns Michael's life around..."
Total Film 3 stars out of 5 -- "Bullock delivers a towering performance that grabs the movie and the Oscar race by the scruff of the neck."
Empire