Bookworm
Vertical Entertainment | Release Date: October 18, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
IndieWireAlison ForemanJul 22, 2024
Fearlessly specific in its comedy and just as attentive with its character arcs, this algebraic study in adventure might have a metaphoric typo or two (insert obligatory comment about CGI), but it’s mostly a triumph. Read full review
90
VarietyTomris LafflyOct 18, 2024
As expansive and inviting as its picturesque New Zealand landscapes, a joyous sense of adventure shines through in Ant Timpson’s Bookworm, a delightfully quirky father-daughter adventure with the perfect blend of childlike wonder and grown-up bite. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubJason GorberJul 24, 2024
If you go into Bookworm expecting more of the same chills and thrills from Timpson and his collaborators, you may be put off by this far more accessible tale. Yet, peering closer, you can see reflections of the same rich emotional and character beats that have always been lingering within the more sordid genre trappings of Timpson’s previous work. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineRocco T. ThompsonOct 2, 2024
Ant Timpson’s heartwarming Bookworm is an effulgent love letter to ’80s kid cinema laced with a distinctly quirky, Kiwi dryness. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzOct 18, 2024
It feels a wee bit padded even at a brisk 96 minutes (it’s tough to do “deadpan” in a comedy and not have it come off as merely slow) and has trouble staying on the right side of too-cutesy. But it sustains an innocent storybook tone throughout, thanks mainly to strong performances from its lead actors, Elijah Wood and Nell Fisher, and lush images of the New Zealand countryside. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 14, 2024
Shifts in tone aside, you’d still have to call “Bookworm” a winner — or I would — with Wood at his most vulnerable and winning and Fisher justifying her chattering pedant paycheck serving up equal parts adorable and insufferable. Read full review
60
The GuardianCath ClarkeNov 5, 2024
This is a shameless heartstring plucker. But it’s charming and sometimes very funny. Read full review
60
ColliderChase HutchinsonAug 1, 2024
There is just enough magic that it discovers by the end to give it a closing spark, but there is a mighty long road to get there, ensuring it all just remains merely okay as opposed to comprehensively good. Read full review
50
The Film StageC.J. PrinceJul 23, 2024
Timpson, along with co-writer Toby Harvard, prefer to take the easy way for achieving their goals, the film leaning into dated comedy and a relentless charm offensive that makes its efforts too strained to fully embrace. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonJul 22, 2024
The New Zealand landscapes could not be more enchanting, although the story lacks a similar magic. Read full review
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