Sports movies are notoriously difficult to make well.

Many movies of the genre like “Remember The Titans” and “Bull Durham,” end up combining over the top action with under whelming or cheesy stories. “Friday Night Lights” properly mixes good football sequences with a gripping story and good acting to make a great movie.

“Friday Night Lights” is based on the book of the same name by H.G. Bissinger. It takes place in Odessa, Texas, and follows the Odessa-Permian Panthers during their tumultuous 1987 season.

The plot focuses on coach Gary Gaines, played by Billy Bob Thornton, and his athletes, especially quarterback Mike Winchell and running backs Jason Billingsly and James “Boobie” Miles.

The opening season is the first day of the preseason, giving the audience a look at the pressures of high school football in Texas. It follows the characters from the start of the season, through the rocky losses and tough wins, showing how the players react to the stress brought on from a football crazed, economically depressed town.

The story is well written and does not attempt to push too hard. It never becomes absurd, but is certainly well suited for the big screen. What really makes the story, though, is the characters and their stories.

Boobie, played by Derek Luke (Spartan, Antwone Fisher), is a highly recruited and egotistical running back. Luke delivers a powerful performance, playing the part of the football obsessed Boobie to perfection.

Boobie is contrasted by Winchell, played by Lucas Black, the brooding, introspective leader of the team. There is no other character in the movie that shows his pain more, especially during a scene in which Winchell breaks down crying in the locker room after a tough loss.

Add to that the acting of Garrett Hedlund, who plays Billingsly. Billingsly had to contend with the added pressure of his alcoholic, former state champion father, and managed to pull off scenes that have an incredible chill factor.

As individual actors, Black, Luke and Hedlund all do an excellent job, but on screen together, they seem to actually act as if they had played together for 10 years. In one particular scene in the team weight room, Boobie is harassing Winchell about his lack of smiling. Eventually, the charismatic and loud Boobie makes Winchell crack a smile, much to his delight.

Thornton plays coach Gaines, possibly the least interesting of the main characters, rather well, making the quiet and stoic coach come alive on the screen.

Sports movies always have a difficult time with the on field action. It is not an easy thing to train highly paid actors, who are not athletic, to act like high paid, highly trained athletes.

Generally, actors end up pressing too hard to look like they are naturals, and the effects are generally disastrous. In “Friday Night Lights” the crew actually hired a cast of ex-pro football players and college players for the scenes that did not involve close ups. This leads to realistic looking football sequences.

With solid role acting, a great story and action that is tailor made for the ideal sports movie, “Friday Night Lights” is a great film, well worth laying down some money for.