The Critic
critic Reviews
, 50% Rotten Tomatometer Score- Everyone's a critic, and Ian McKellen is better than most at playing one, but even his character would give this rote melodrama a so-so review.
- , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreStephen RomeiThe Australian
It’s entertaining throughout, especially for McKellen’s acerbic performance, even if it becomes a tad over-theatrical towards the end.
Read full article - , Rotten Tomatometer ScoreJake WilsonThe Age (Australia)
The Critic never quite comes together: there’s something wonky about the structure, as if Marber had given up halfway on the challenge of reshaping his source material, Anthony Quinn’s 2015 novel Curtain Call.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreDonald ClarkeIrish Times
By the close, one is left befuddled. Is this a tragedy? Is this a comedy? Is it a moral fable? Cruelty to Homo criticus is the least of its problems.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreMark KermodeKermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)
This is an entertainingly ripe melodrama with weird aspirations toward seriousness... tonally it's all over the place.
Read full article - , Rotten Tomatometer ScoreWendy IdeObserver (UK)
Despite reported reshoots and a fresh edit after the film’s coolly received premiere last year, its sour spirit and a cluttered, clumsy third act remain a problem.
Read full article - , Rotten Tomatometer ScoreHelen O'HaraEmpire Magazine
McKellen has fun as the bitter, biting Erskine, but the plot takes so long to come together that at times he's the only thing holding the audience's interest.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreJames CrootStuff.co.nz
If you’ve been lamenting the lack of British period dramas with an edge, in these modern, seemingly somewhat sanitised cinematic times, then take this critic’s advice and rush along to a theatre near you.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreLeigh PaatschHerald Sun (Australia)
Though a darkish final act possibly overcomplicates a simple comeuppance for a certain character, McKellen’s gilt-edged gift of the gab shines brightly throughout.
Read full article - , Rotten Tomatometer ScoreJohn McDonaldAustralian Financial Review
I know we’re talking about London in the 1930s, but this idea about what a critic does, marks the story as a pure pot-boiler.
Read full article - , Fresh Tomatometer ScoreStephen A. RussellOrion's Shoulder (Substack)
While I suspect few five-star raves await, McKellen’s always worth the ticket
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