Ian Freer

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Empire, Time Out
For 391 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 49% higher than the average critic
  • 5% same as the average critic
  • 46% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 1.2 points higher than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Ian Freer's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 67
Highest review score: 100 Imitation of Life
Lowest review score: 20 Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 191 out of 391
  2. Mixed: 196 out of 391
  3. Negative: 4 out of 391
391 movie reviews
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    • 31 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Fifty Shades Freed
    Take out the BDSM, and Fifty Shades Freed would play perfectly as afternoon thriller on Channel 5. An end to a damp squib of a trilogy which sees Johnson as the only one to emerge unscathed.
    • 31 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Fathers and Daughters
    It’s tastefully shot and Crowe commits to the horrors of Jake’s illness (his seizures are upsetting) but the writing lacks depth, the character psychology is dime-store Freud and the performances are variable.
    • 31 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    The Reckoning
    Neil Marshall’s return to his homegrown horror wheelhouse doesn’t reach the heights of Dog Soldiers and The Descent. Instead, it’s a witch-hunt thriller that lacks the texture to be realistic and the no-holds-barred energy to be pulpy. Sean Pertwee has fun though.
    • 31 Metascore
    • 60 Ian Freer
    The Book of Henry
    After a gentle engaging start, The Book Of Henry makes an ill-judged move into thriller territory. But the performances, especially from Jaeden Lieberher, are strong and it delivers that rare cinematic treat: a real surprise.
    • 30 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Expend4bles
    A slight improvement on Expendables 3, Expend4bles still works better as character posters than a movie you have to actually sit through. To paraphrase the tag line, old blood meets new blood equals tired blood.
    • 30 Metascore
    • 20 Ian Freer
    Blue Iguana
    Blue Iguana grates on pretty much every level, a misjudged hodge-podge of ill-defined characters, tired filmmaking licks and an air of general unpleasantness. It also contains one of the worst shootouts in recent memory.
    • 28 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Man Down
    Featuring strong work from LaBeouf, Man Down is a fascinating example of how a powerful performance and good intentions can be derailed by a misguided concept and flawed execution.
    • 27 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Transformers: The Last Knight
    Bay’s genuine determination to give you a good time still doesn’t result in fun. Overlong, overstuffed and soulless, for fans who grew up with Optimus and Co, The Last Knight will sting like a bee.
    • 27 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Precious Cargo
    Precious Cargo is a film out of time. In the ’90s it would have been a serviceable DTV alternative when the Van Damme/Jeff Wincott flick was out at Blockbuster. These days it is a lacklustre anachronism. Bruce Willis should really know better.
    • 26 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Dolittle
    Eddie Murphy’s Dr. Dolittle generated four sequels. On this showing, Downey Jr’s will be a standalone, an uncynical but mostly lacklustre kids’ flick that doesn’t find its voice, animal or otherwise.
    • 26 Metascore
    • 20 Ian Freer
    Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol
    Citizens On Patrol might well have been subtitled When The Rot Set In.
    • 26 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Five Nights at Freddy's 2
    It huffs and puffs to entertain but Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 falls flat on most levels. Animatronic chickens wreaking havoc should be much more fun.
    • 26 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Rambo: Last Blood
    As a last hurrah for a once great action icon, Rambo: Last Blood is a damp squib. Put your headbands at half mast and remember him from his glory days.
    • 23 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Collateral Beauty
    In a month of "A Monster Calls" and "Manchester By The Sea," Collateral Beauty serves up a hollow portrait of grief. Despite its quality cast and slick visuals, the result is sombre and saccharine rather than uplifting.
    • 16 Metascore
    • 20 Ian Freer
    Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
    This is probably worse than you’d expect, even from a sequel to a sequel to a sequel to a sequel to a sequel.
    • 15 Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    The Last Days of American Crime
    The Last Days Of American Crime takes a potentially entertaining, if silly, premise and drains it of any reason to get invested. You can just imagine a John Carpenter would have doubled the thrills in half the time.
    • 6 Metascore
    • 20 Ian Freer
    War of the Worlds
    A risible attempt to modernise classic science-fiction by adding WhatsApp and political chicanery. This thin, frenetic, soulless adaptation is misguided moviemaking cubed.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Ian Freer
    The Occupant
    The Occupant is a slow burn of a thriller that never catches fire. Looking to skewer the pursuit of perfection during late capitalism, it misses both its satiric targets and a sense of kitsch fun.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Ian Freer
    Rose Island
    A kind of Italian Fitzcarraldo, Rose Island persuasively argues that dreamers can move mountains. It offers little in the way of surprises, but it’s hard not to be won over by its small-scale delights.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 60 Ian Freer
    He Dreams of Giants
    He Dreams Of Giants never grips like Lost In La Mancha but it is an entertaining look at Gilliam’s damned-fool idealistic crusade, and an interesting portrait of a filmmaker whose eyes are way bigger than his budget.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 40 Ian Freer
    Hidden Strike
    A meandering, unfunny, mostly flat effort, Hidden Strike is a disappointing waste of two immensely likeable stars. Head straight to the super-fun outtakes.
    • tbd Metascore
    • 80 Ian Freer
    Kim Novak's Vertigo
    The timelines fuzzy (it’s difficult to discern when she actually left movies behind) and other personal details are scant, but what shines through is the obvious affection between interviewer and subject. It’s a rapport that engenders an engrossing, conversational tribute to a mostly unsung great.
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