Better Man

critic Reviews

, 88% Certified Fresh Tomatometer Score
  • Daring to substitute its marquee star with a VFX creation and somehow pulling it off, Better Man makes a monkey out of the traditional musical biopic to thrilling effect.
  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Tim CogshellFilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
    It's raw, so simple, but by having that chimpanzee in there it's somehow extremely stark.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Adam NaymanThe Ringer
    Regardless of how much Better Man actually works, it’s one of the only recent movies made at its budget level with a genuinely interesting relationship between its form and content.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    David SimsThe Atlantic
    It properly delves into its subject’s erratic persona, using the musical segments to advance the story instead of as mandatory breaks in the action. The result is one of the most thoughtfully constructed movies about a musician I’ve seen in years.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Tasha RobinsonPolygon
    While the movie is drawn from Robbie Williams’ life, it’s better to think of it as a fantasy feature. Michael Gracey plays with image and emotion over facts, telling a story through bold, expressive, visually startling sequences.


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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Danny LeighFinancial Times
    Of course, the story arc eventually curves up, but the movie is quite the one-off: a crowd-pleaser that feels like singing along to a psychiatric report.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Mark KermodeKermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)
    In the end, it is overlong, it is indulgent, and it is essentially foolish, but for all that, it is much more rewarding and entertaining than I expected, and damn it if that central idea actually doesn't work.
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  • , Rotten Tomatometer Score
    John SerbaDecider
    I didn’t hate Better Man from chimpan-A to chimpan-Z, but ultimately, making a monkey out of Robbie Williams is an idea too difficult for Gracey to pull off.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Manuel BetancourtFilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)
    It should not work, and yet the commitment by director Michael Gracey is such that it's hard to look away.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Casey ChongCasey's Movie Mania
    The otherwise familiar music biopic gets a lively and even poignant cinematic experience.
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  • , Fresh Tomatometer Score
    Sarah CartlandCaution Spoilers
    If you’re worried Robbie Williams as a chimp will be distracting, it soon seems not so much off-the-wall as necessary. His story is brutal but it’s also common&#59; how else to get people’s attention?
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