Arthur
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: April 8, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
36
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
21
Negative:
12
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
EmpireJames WhiteApr 21, 2011
Brand fan? You'll likely enjoy his antics. But Russellophobics would be better off seeking out the original. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzApr 7, 2011
Brand ultimately can't make a watered-down Arthur as sweetly charming as the original, but he certainly makes it better than it would have been otherwise. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanApr 7, 2011
The new Arthur is a feathery screwball satire, competent on its own terms, yet as the movie went on I found it increasingly hard to separate the character's self-indulgence from that of the actor playing him. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliApr 11, 2011
It's amazing how a lifeless, pointless remake can provoke pangs of nostalgia about a mediocre movie. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsApr 8, 2011
With such a thin excuse for a leading man, Arthur is a dud. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'HehirApr 7, 2011
Misfires on multiple levels but isn't all that terrible. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianM. E. RussellApr 7, 2011
That cast is precisely what makes the new Arthur so frustrating. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleApr 7, 2011
The movie lacks joy. It has poignancy and intelligence, and it holds interest, but it never opens up into happiness and fantasy. Maybe it's the recession. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottApr 7, 2011
The star does his patented shtick, supported by a handful of blue-chip supporting performers, as the story lurches through contrived, seminaughty comic set pieces toward a sentimental ending. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigApr 7, 2011
Despite his cockney-accented verbosity, Brand does not convey the effortless conviviality that Dudley Moore did in the part. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisApr 7, 2011
The new remake of Arthur is a thin copy of the 1981 original. But it has a few things going for it. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsApr 7, 2011
Russell Brand steps into the role of Arthur Bach for the 2011 remake, and while it's one of the more reined-in performances of his short, busy big-screen career, Brand's unvarying onscreen persona just doesn't do soulful. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyKarina LongworthApr 6, 2011
This remake seems to exist only to zap the original of its minor pleasures. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallApr 6, 2011
Brand is amusing, in a nutty "Get Him to the Greek" sort of way, while Moore delivered one of the funniest performances ever. Read full review
42
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerApr 8, 2011
It seems a bit cruel to cast Garner, who exudes charm, in such a charmless role. Read full review
40
SlateDana StevensApr 7, 2011
If you get caught between the moon and New York City--or even just between two movies at the multiplex--the best that you can do is skip this one. Read full review
40
MovielineStephanie ZacharekApr 7, 2011
Step over to the liquor cabinet and mix yourself a good, stiff drink - if you plan on seeing this godforsaken thing, you'll need it. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesApr 7, 2011
Three decades of skyrocketing income inequality have soured the comedy of Arthur's astronomically expensive self-indulgences. Read full review
40
Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondApr 6, 2011
This Arthur feels flat and lifeless, especially when compared to its highly successful predecessor. Read full review
40
Time OutJoshua RothkopfApr 6, 2011
The original film, for all its zaniness, existed in a recognizable Koch-era metropolis, one that paradoxically added to our hero's likable haze of denial. This time, the town is far shinier (what recession?). Read full review
40
VarietyJustin ChangApr 5, 2011
Even the Brit-wit chemistry of Russell Brand and Helen Mirren can't offset the self-conscious degree to which this tame, calculated effort sticks to its source. Read full review
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