Big Fish

Big Fish (2004)

  • 77% of critics liked it
    (213 reviews)

  • 86% of users liked it
    (456,867 ratings)

Tim Burton directs the fantasy drama Big Fish, based on the book Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Southern writer/illustrator Daniel Wallace. Billy Crudup plays William Bloom, a young man who never really knew his dying father, Edward (Albert Finney) outside of the tall tales he told about… More

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PG-13,
Directed By
Written By
John August
Genres
Drama, Comedy
In Theaters
Dec 10, 2003 Wide
Sony Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Geoff Andrew, Time Out

    The film doesn't so much reject history as selectively rewrite it to its own reactionary, even offensive ends. This might perhaps be just about tolerable were the film funny, illuminating, insightful or moving. It is not.

  • Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

    Overall, the film feels like it issues from a place Burton doesn't inhabit.

  • Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

    Burton shows the rivalry between father and son but not the rancor, which seems to fit with the film's calm lyricism. But the father-son conflict is meant as the dramatic crux, and a forceful actor would have given it some much-needed bite.

  • Paul Clinton (CNN.com), CNN.com

    A compelling look at the relationships between fathers and sons, and the child coming to terms with the parent's mortality.

  • Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

    A long-winded indulgence in tear-and-a-smile whimsy.

Read all 22 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Melvin W


    Will Bloom: A man tells so many stories, that he becomes the stories. They live on after him, and in that way he becomes immortal. "An Adventure As Big As Life Itself." Big Fish is a very interesting movie. The plot jumps around and while we are being told the stories, we,… More

  • Candy R


    Fantasy movie by Tim Burton. A man is dying of cancer. His son is desperate to know his father. He tells him how he met his mother. Great cast and story.

  • Sam B


    Tim Burton may be the biggest name attached to Big Fish, but its really screenwriter John Augusts' movie, as he masterfully adapts a book about storytelling into a movie about storytelling with ease. In fact, I'd say the biggest detriment to the film is Burton himself, who… More

  • Daniel P


    A continuously surprising journey, highly re-watchable, and one of the best endings I've ever seen. May be Burton's best.

  • Alexander D


    BIG FISH is bizarre, but there's Tim Burton for you. A unique fantasy-drama, it questions life and death with the usual, odd spin created by Burton; and without all the flummoxing B.S. that kept THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON from earning its Oscar for Best Picture. The… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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