Netflix WWII Thriller Wins Record Ratings Despite Critics’ Scorn

WHO:

MovieWeb - *The Mosquito Bowl* stars Nicholas Galitzine as John McLaughry, Bill Skarsgård as Bob Bauman, Ray Nicholson as Tony Butkovich, and Tom Francis as David Schreiner.

MovieWeb - Director Peter Berg directed the film; he also directed and created *Friday Night Lights* and its mid-2000s television adaptation.

MovieWeb - The story centers on four former college football stars who enlist in the U.S. Marines.

MovieWeb - Deadline described the film as “a movie well worth seeing not as just another war movie but rather as one that should make any leader think hard about the human price paid every time they start one.” Punch Drunk Critics called it “a surprisingly powerful antiwar movie.”

WHAT:

Collider - The article reports that Netflix’s new World War II thriller is playing in theaters, with streaming to follow, and says critics have reacted negatively.

Screen Rant - The article says the World War II adaptation is setting multiple Rotten Tomatoes records ahead of its streaming release.

MovieWeb - *The Mosquito Bowl* had a 36% Rotten Tomatoes score based on 14 reviews at the time of the article.

MovieWeb - The film is 127 minutes long and is based on a true story.

MovieWeb - Critics praised Berg’s visceral, action-packed direction but criticized the script and character development. Flickering Myth called it a solid “sensory war experience”; Collider’s review rated it 6/10 and described it as a “by-the-books film that adds very little new to the canon of war epics.”

MovieWeb - MovieWeb’s review said the film was “immediately reminiscent of Friday Night Lights,” would appeal to its “intended audience,” and was an “entertaining blockbuster.”

MovieWeb - The film features a football match known as the “Mosquito Bowl.”

WHERE:

MovieWeb - The film’s story includes the Battle of Okinawa.

MovieWeb - The film was playing in theaters; the article does not specify a location.

WHY:

MovieWeb - The four football stars enlist in the Marines following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

HOW:

MovieWeb - The former football stars join the Marines and, with other soldiers, take part in the Mosquito Bowl, a football game held before the Battle of Okinawa.

(UPDATED October 31, 2026 02:01 UTC)

Netflix’s World War II film The Mosquito Bowl follows four football stars who enlist in the Marines. Peter Berg directs the true-story adaptation, featuring a wartime football game before the Battle of Okinawa. Critics praised its visceral action but faulted the script; Rotten Tomatoes scored it 36 percent.