Critic Reviews

• Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

  It's easy to settle in for the oddball charms of this tale of love among the ruins.

• Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

  A bone-dry and nearly pitch-perfect combo of romantic comedy, absurdist farce and alien-invasion drama...

• Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

  A tiresome roundelay of lies, lust and leaping paranoia.

• Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times

  As comedies go, it's as dry as bleached bones in the desert, but you can't blame Vigalondo for taking another shot at cleverness.

• Andrew Lapin, NPR

  There is originality, certainly. But Vigalondo teased us with the moon and the stars, and delivered only the terrestrial.

• Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

  Quirky, but infinitely more interesting than big-budget Hollywood cousins.

• Matt Donato, We Got This Covered

  Extraterrestrial comes out of left field with characteristic charm and unexpected plotlines, but it delights nonetheless.

• Paul Chambers, Movie Chambers

  "Extraterrestrial" becomes a comedy of one-lie-after-another. And, a great deal of it is funny/interesting enough to keep you locked into the story, even as you wait and wait and wait for the aliens TO DO SOMETHING.

• Mike Russell, Oregonian

  Vigalondo makes the most of a handful of locations while bouncing romantic farce off a (largely unseen) world-changing event.

• Mark Pfeiffer, Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

  If Extraterrestrial is to explore what might be called Third Wheel Syndrome, Vigalondo needed to bring greater tension to the romantic triangle than what exists.

• Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

  Never quite the feature most will expect it to be, Extraterrestrial is a charming submission of low-fi scripting, using a colossal development in universal happenings to reinforce the quirks and hazards of love.

• Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle

  On the whole, Extraterrestrial is slight, filled with lots of bark but little bite.

• William Goss, Orlando Weekly

  If you only see one film this month about characters seeking a friend for the end of the world, this is the more charming of the two.

• Mike McGranaghan, Aisle Seat

  Even though it's not entirely successful, there is an undeniably oddball charm on display.

• Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

  Vigalondo's interest in the invasion extends only so far as it works to isolate his characters and force them into interaction.

• Frank Lovece, Film Journal International

  Diverting trifle of romantic misunderstandings in Madrid, under the shadow of an apparently benign spaceship occupation, never gathers steam nor finds a consistent tone.

• Noel Murray, AV Club

  A lightly comic genre piece where not much happens and no one has much amusing to say.

• Eric Kohn, indieWIRE

  Guided by director Nacho Vigalondo's understated wit, the story never adheres to expectations.

Read all 18 critic reviews