Metacritic reviews

The casting, the acting, and the milieu seem effortlessly, inexplicably right. This movie transcends its genre; it isn't only about stock-car racing, any more than The Hustler was only about shooting pool.

Well written and subtly directed, The Last American Hero concentrates on the human elements of the story without becoming overly sentimental.

Like a Thunder Road filtered through the perceptions of the '70s, it's an invigorating and touching movie.

After a fumbling start which looks like bad editing for TV, The Last American Hero [based on two articles by Tom Wolfe] settles into some good, gritty, family Americana, with Jeff Bridges excellent as a flamboyant auto racer determined to succeed on his own terms and right a wrong to his father, played expertly by Art Lund.