Blue Story
Paramount Pictures | Release Date (Streaming): May 5, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
69
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Screen RantSandy SchaeferMay 7, 2020
Blue Story can be messy in stretches, but it's undeniably passionate and carried by its simple, yet effective, and sometimes lyrical storytelling. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekMay 7, 2020
Blue Story, at its essence, is a narrative you’ve seen before. But Onwubolu vests it with firecracker energy — the pace never drags, even when you think you know what’s going to happen next. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattMay 6, 2020
As a director, Onwubolu brings a tender, vivid touch the film’s relationships — particularly Timmy’s giddy plunge into first love with the fiercely independent Leah (Karla Simone-Spence) — though he stumbles when it comes to building deeper storylines around them; there's almost no narrative turn that doesn't seem telegraphed from the jump. Read full review
70
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganMay 5, 2020
The film-making itself can stumble - this isn’t always a smooth watch; and such heartfelt sentiment sets it apart from more savvily sophisticated similar dramas. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJocelyn NoveckMay 5, 2020
What distinguishes this debut feature from Andrew Onwubolu, aka Rapman, is firstly its storytelling structure, making welcome use of the writer-director’s rap talents to serve as a Greek chorus. And secondly its cast, with several vital performances of note, especially from heartbreakingly vulnerable newcomer Stephen Odubola. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Simran HansMay 5, 2020
It shouldn’t work yet it does, underscoring the tragedy of corrupted innocence, constricting codes of masculinity and the aftermath of trauma. Read full review
60
EmpireAmon WarmannMay 5, 2020
The musical interludes in which Rapman narrates significant plot points offer a welcome change of pace, but the subject matter at play here is a little too common to truly stand out from the pack. Read full review
60
The GuardianMike McCahillMay 5, 2020
Onwubolu avoids the usual flash and posturing in favour of a careful, rooted storytelling, finding subtly different perspectives on gang life, and offering his characters as many ways out as there are ways in. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin CrustMay 5, 2020
It’s a Shakespearean rhapsody in indigo where love, friendship, betrayal and revenge swirl and blur with life-changing consequences. Read full review
60
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergMay 5, 2020
The film has a powerful sense of place, with details that feel authentic and, in some cases, lived through. Yet Rapman’s civic-minded lyrics (“There really ain’t no winners when you’re playing with them guns”) have a habit of reducing the drama to tidy morals. Read full review
80
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 5, 2020
Blue Story is a 91-minute assault of sound and image that leaves no doubt about the vicious cycle of gang violence it presents. Prepare to be wowed. Read full review
60
TheWrapCandice FrederickMay 4, 2020
Blue Story doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to films about turf wars, but its personal, humanizing themes about friendship, love, youth, and black masculinity keeps you riveted, Onwubolu’s lyrical respites aside. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckMay 4, 2020
While the rough-hewn filmmaking occasionally reveals Rapman's lack of experience working with a larger cinematic canvas, Blue Story boasts an immediacy and energy that perfectly suit the material. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoMay 4, 2020
There are times when the familiarity of the urban melodrama hurts Blue Story, particularly in the lack of depth to his characters. (Odubola is a find, but the rest of the cast has some actors who feel a bit amateur.) Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanApr 2, 2020
Blue Story is very much a blast of something present tense. Rapman’s scenes boil over with life, as he crafts an opera of innocence infected by gangsta pathology. Read full review
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