185 reactions from 3 sources (Bluesky, Mastodon, TMDB reviews) · newest Oct 11, 2026 · last updated Oct 13, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
Sentiment labels for these sources are still being hand-checked; no score yet.
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 19 | 4 | 97 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TMDB reviews * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
64 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
15 archived X posts (Mar–Apr 2026) are kept for the record and not used.
What people are saying
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Critics, per Wikipedia
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Saipan holds an approval rating of 90% from 29 reviews. In September 2025, the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and film was favourably reviewed by The Guardian and described as “the rare football movie that’s worth a replay.” Damon Wise for Deadline called the film a "surprisingly profound soccer comedy." Robbie Collin in The Daily Telegraph commented that Coogan played McCarthy "subtly" and the film was "most entertaining when it simply pits Coogan and Hardwicke against each other as two strains of modern Irish manhood at war", providing "a watchable national identity crisis in microcosm". Phil de Semlyn in Time…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 185 · most liked firstNew Podcast out now: - Will Ireland face down Elon Musk (feat @elaineburke.bsky.social) - European silence on Donald Trump's empire building - Why China is interested in Ireland with @gavreilly.com in Shanghai - Jessie Buckley ✅ and Saipan the Movie ❌ podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/t...
neutral · AI labelView post →In Greece - yay Also, Saipan was a fucking brilliant film with 1 tiny pedantic flaw WAGs as a term didn't exist in 2002, it was 2006 by the time it was a thing
positive · AI labelView post →A look at Saipan, the new film about the McCarthy/Keane spat just before the 2002 World Cup. www.theguardian.com/football/202...
neutral · AI labelView post →Saipan has been rated 15 in the UK for very strong language in the least surprising film classification decision of the year. It should get a PG here for its historical importance 😆
neutral · AI labelView post →“Some people are just unmanageable.” I had a good time with #Saipan, a film about two men who will do anything but actually talk to one another. A national psychodrama, it feels like “Saipan” hones in on some of the more complicated and contradictory impulses of Irish identity.
positive · AI labelView post →The stars and filmmakers behind Saipan, a new film charting the explosive fallout between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy during Ireland's 2002 World Cup preparations, opened the Cork International Film Festival this evening
neutral · AI labelView post →New Projector Short! It was the falling out that divided Irleand: Éanna Hardwicke's Roy Keane and Steve Coogan's Mick McCarthy's epic clash in Saipan before the 2002 World Cup is now a film that, while taking some dramatic liberties, scored for this non-football fan. youtube.com/shorts/UHUvm...
neutral · AI labelView post →Went to see #Saipan (movie, not island). Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Watching with someone not from Ireland, it’s easy to forget just how much it took over our world at that time. #SpeirGorm
positive · AI labelView post →Watching Saipan. I think Roy Keane is a prick. @aisling7468.bsky.social thinks Mick McCarthy is a buffoon. These were also our opinions pre-movie
neutral · AI labelView post →A video piece on the Saipan film, what it got right, who was right, football on screen and all that www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F1m...
neutral · AI labelView post →Cormac, I've already weighed in on the Saipan incident. I'm looking forward to the movie to see if I'm right. But I've no idea what a langer is
neutral · AI labelView post →Finally watched Saipan the other night, which is a film that only works if you are way into your soccer history or were born in Ireland before the year 2000. It has some pacing issues and is very one-sided, but two leads, Éanna Hardwicke as Roy Keane and Steve Coogan as Mick McCarthy, are excellent.
neutral · AI labelView post →“Saipan is very entertaining, but after a climactic standoff the film’s intensity dissipates and it drifts to a conclusion, giving us time to wonder whether this story really merits a big-screen retelling” Philip Concannon reviews. Out Friday. www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-so...
neutral · AI labelView post →"Japan’s Saipan island"? Apparently Roy Keane can time-travel back to pre-1944 days. www.theguardian.com/film/2026/ja...
neutral · AI labelView post →It's like Roy Keane is the only human in a muppet movie #Saipan
negative · AI labelView post →Looks like the release date for that Saipan movie with Steve Coogan playing Mick McCarthy & an actor playing Roy Keane has been put back. Was supposed to be coming out this Friday but it’s now been put back to January 23rd, 2026.
neutral · AI labelView post →An Evening With Gary Lineker! #DearEngland! #Saipan! Mike Bassett: England Manager! I've picked the best TV, films and documentaries to get you warmed up and in the mood for the #WorldCup www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
neutral · AI labelView post →If you are looking for a football related film to watch I highly recommend Saipan. I don’t know why I hadn’t heard of it until yesterday, Steve Coogan stars as Mick McCarthy in a drama about Roy Keane leaving the Irish 🇮🇪 football squad before the 2002 World Cup. www.imdb.com/title/tt3309... #lufc
positive · AI labelView post →Spoke to the writers and directors of 'Saipan' about the film, and certain decisions that were made for it www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...
neutral · AI labelView post →Steve Coogan in an interview about his latest movie Saipan(about Irish football managerial/player bust up) with SKY news today, has gone full Gerry Adam’s 🤔🤣
neutral · AI labelView post →Just home from seeing the film Saipan so of course I am now going to read the entire Wikipedia page and multiple articles about the film Saipan.
neutral · AI labelView post →Saipan is a good film. boxd.it/cmGlhl
positive · AI labelView post →Just ONE more fight about your leadership 😤 On January 1st, Saipan comes to cinemas across Ireland, and we'll be hosting a whole week of coverage devoted to the film - our review, feature articles and more. Stay tuned because we're just getting started!
neutral · AI labelView post →Just saw Saipan, the film about Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy in the run up to the 2002 World Cup and it's good. The guy who plays Roy got it spot on.
positive · AI labelView post →Saipan is out now in UK cinemas - from reviews to recipes and deeper analysis, we covered the film from all angles during our Saipan Week, and you can read the full collection of articles here - filmindublin.ie/tag/saipan-w... Saipan Week artwork courtesy of @amylouioc.bsky.social
neutral · AI labelView post →Appearing on the Toy Show a few weeks before the Saipan movie comes out is masterful PR. I bet Mick McCarthy is raging. #LateLateToyShow
neutral · AI labelView post →Great night at @theeverymancork.bsky.social for the Irish premiere of Saipan as part of Cork International Film Festival. Éanna Hardwicke is excellent as Roy Keane. Really captures his intensity youtu.be/ZwVSe3ATfns?... #Cork #Cinema #Saipan
neutral · AI labelView post →I have just listened to Conor Pope describe watching the Saipan movie as 'triggering' and very upsetting. *adds 'Still upset about Saipan' to my 'Are men ok?' list*
neutral · AI labelView post →This film looks good. Saipan out in Jan. Roy Keane looks accurate 👌 youtu.be/s4TzwHPsq_s?...
neutral · AI labelView post →Never mind the online bollocks - Saipan looks decent. @barryglendenning.bsky.social take for @theguardian.com on *that* trailer for *that* movie about *that* bust-up. www.theguardian.com/football/202...
neutral · AI labelView post →JUST IN: ‘Hello Love Again’ earns 155M on its second day in the box office. International screenings kicked off yesterday in Australia and New Zealand. Today, November 15, the film will start screening in USA, Canada, Guam and Saipan. #HelloLoveAgain #KathDen #KathrynBernardo #AldenRichards
neutral · AI labelView post →Favourite first-time watches of April 2026. The Plague Deathstalker Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie Saipan Hokum My Father's Shadow No Other Choice Three Colours White #filmsky #moviesky
neutral · AI labelView post →Brussels Irish film festival! (Here to see Saipan, the film about the Mick McCarthy/Roy Keane spat in the Japan/Korea World Cup 2002).
neutral · AI labelView post →February 19, 1924: Decorated WWII combat vet and Oscar-winning actor #LeeMarvin is born in NYC (d. 1987) During the 1944 Battle of Saipan, Marvin, a Marine scout, was hit by gunfire that severed his sciatic nerve. He was then shot by a sniper, sustaining wounds that took more than a year to heal.
neutral · AI labelView post →Saw the Saipan movie. It was v enjoyable, although there isnt a lot to the story. Roy Keane is a pro & wants things done right. He’s an arsehole but hes a winner. Mick McCarthy is a nice guy, slightly out of his depth & the Irish prep is a shambles. Steve Coogan & Eanna Hardwicke are very good. 7/10
positive · AI labelView post →Saipan is Kino - see it in Irish cinemas now. Our review: filmindublin.ie/2025/12/26/s...
neutral · AI labelView post →Ken Early: The Saipan film makes the conflict between Keane and McCarthy less interesting www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer...
neutral · AI labelView post →New #Film #Review from me on @letterboxd.social - Saipan (2025), directed by Glenn Leyburn & Lisa Barros D'Sa, and starring Éanna Hardwicke and Steve Coogan. I saw it at the Belfast Film Festival recently, and it's due to be screened at this year's Foyle Film Festival on November 23. boxd.it/bJDcAL
neutral · AI labelView post →Going to see Saipan at the London film festival with the lads. Incredible scenes of modern masculinity are occurring
neutral · AI labelView post →I hear they had to use the forced perspective shots developed for Gandalf in Lord of the Rings to film the Niall Quinn scenes in that Saipan movie.
neutral · AI labelView post →Saipan, starring Éanna Hardwicke and Steve Coogan, has just wrapped filming. Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa's upcoming film based on the 2002 World Cup fiasco, has just finished shooting, as announced by IFTA-winning Director of Photography Piers McGrail. www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=r...
neutral · AI labelView post →Just watched 'Saipan' on an Aer Lingus flight. Which made me wonder: why has a movie not been made about the Dutch team during Euro 1996?
neutral · AI labelView post →All the chat about Odyssey had made me thinking when was the last time I went to the cinema and it was Saipan around Christmas time. Going one further I have watched 100s of hours of sport in 2026 and im pretty sure not one movie. The last movie I saw was about sport as well lol
neutral · AI labelView post →Fontaines D.C. have pretty much passed me by, but 'Favourite' - that plays out the 'Saipan' film may have pulled me in.
neutral · AI labelView post →Watched that there Saipan film t’other day which is, on the surface, a simple saga of two men having an argument before a major soccerball tournament. But it’s more than that, I reckon, so jotted down my thoughts here. Have a read if you’re so inclined. Or not, nae bother. boxd.it/dUiGKz
positive · AI labelView post →iT'S WHY i KEEP SAYING AFTER Saipan, we need films about ephemeral Irish tat. Twink the movie. The Fatima hijacking - the movie. A film about Eurovision stuff (I know Aline features 'the Dublin Song Contest' with a Canadian actor playing the Plank's voice)
neutral · AI labelView post →I note there’s a new dramatised film out about Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane in Saipan in 2002. Meanwhile, here’s an actual documentary on iPlayer with contributions from journalists who were there.
neutral · AI labelView post →Anger. Management. It’s time to #ChooseYourSide – watch Saipan in cinemas across Ireland, proudly supported by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland. ⚽ 💚 🎟️ Book tickets here: www.wheretowatchireland.com/movie/saipan...
neutral · AI labelView post →From January 5 - 9, Film In Dublin presents Saipan Week, five days of videos, essays and articles devoted to Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn's exploration of the explosive event ⚽️ Cork's own @amylouioc.bsky.social captures Keane as a man in a myth in our Saipan Week artwork 🗡
neutral · AI labelView post →WHAT THE FUCK KEANO ON #latelatetoyshow LESS THEN THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE SAIPAN FILM COMES OUT. I don’t say it often (because cork) but some boy, that Keano fella.
neutral · AI labelView post →The Saipan movie is out December 27th so I’ve booked tickets for me and the auld lad to see it the week we’re home for Christmas. The week leading to New Years can be a hotbed of gripes and familial tension, so why not unite against a common enemy: John Delaney’s FAI
neutral · AI labelView post →Coming soon, from the producers of Cocaine Bear & Kneecap, the movie Saipan, about the most polarizing event in recent Irish History. The civil war over Roy Keane. #Ireland #RoyKeane www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eyxj...
neutral · AI labelView post →Trailer for Saipan film #COYBIG youtu.be/IwrczszDCSk
neutral · AI labelView post →It's true, but it's Keane, so I'm confused about how I should feel. Also, whenever I see, hear or read anything by him, my first thought now is "batenburg". The film Saipan has just made him a comedy character for me.
negative · AI labelView post →I really enjoyed Saipan, albeit it being far from a perfect film but one thing it really did a good job at communicating was the sheer fecklessness of the FAI
positive · AI labelView post →Saipan. A film that could have been an email.
negative · AI labelView post →fair enough - in Belfast it had Beckham at the base of midfield, which seemed unlikely to work anyway (after watching Saipan I think you could make a reasonable movie called "Baden-Baden" about that tournament, with no actual football being shown on screen)
neutral · AI labelView post →Watching Saipan. It's really good so far. Nice to have another good footy movie.
positive · AI labelView post →Yeah are all a fckin disgrace!! My post Saipan therapy is still monthly ... the incident.. not the movie .... or the WW2 battle
neutral · AI labelView post →This week's #film watching intentions... The Assassin Rouge Rental Family Saipan No Other Choice The Man Who Left His Will on Film Violent Cop Spirited Away Hoppers Nobody 2 A Pale View of Hills Resurrection Thermae Romae Need to watch more new films. #FilmSky
neutral · AI labelView post →
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