Tolkien

Tolkien is innocuous but uninspiring.

Fans of Tolkien's writing probably won't discover anything new about the man from this film and the attempts to turn the Somme battlefield into a sort of fiery Middle Earth look painfully contrived. This is a minor biography of a major writer.

The film looks great, a polished period piece, but the pedigree is ragged... The result is polite, plodding and unconvincing, like most movies about famous writers.

"Tolkien" doesn't seem all that interested in providing any kind of entertainment.

Tolkien is on a journey, and while the film may deprive us of an arrival, it does give us a rather exhilarating travel itinerary.

Tolkien may have been the most important modern fantasy author but the movie bearing his name won't stand the test of time.

Despite some heavy-handed references to the Middle Earth books, Tolkien is a well-acted and well-directed film that sheds some light on one of the most beloved authors who ever lived.

The Tolkien family has renounced the film not, one imagines, because it paints an unflattering portrait of its subject but because, by and large, it's a standard look at a man who is anything but ordinary.

It's easy to derive a great deal of pleasure in Hoult and Collins together. Their relationship has an innocent charm that is wonderful to witness.

Tolkien gets certain parts of the story spot on, and does so with a visceral style that makes for compelling viewing. Where it bogs down is everywhere else.