Captive State
Focus Features | Release Date: March 15, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
8
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Rolling StoneBilge EbiriMar 19, 2019
That’s not quite enough to make Captive State great science-fiction, but it ensures that the film lingers in the mind longer than it takes to run the end credits. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeMar 14, 2019
Captive State is imperfectly constructed, at times frustratingly so, but it’s trying, doggedly, to do something different and given the bland efficiency of so many wide-releasing sci-fi movies, that’s hard to fault. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMar 15, 2019
Captive State is a messy, incomplete affair. Attempts to assemble it into a workable package in the editing room didn’t work, so we’re left with a weird cross between "District 9" and "The Battle of Algiers" that doesn’t do either of those apparent inspirations justice. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Mar 15, 2019
It’s not unreasonable to expect something like excitement out of a story about freedom fighters plotting to take back the planet. Captive State does not clear that fairly low bar. Read full review
42
IndieWireMichael NordineMar 15, 2019
Embedded in all this is a would-be message about those who trade freedom for security, the human spirit, and so on and so forth, all of which is too muddled to register with the intended force. Captive State is many things at once — or at least it’s trying to be — and every match it lights along the way is quickly snuffed out. Read full review
42
The Film StageJordan RaupMar 14, 2019
The groundwork is laid for a rich playground of political intrigue and sci-fi thrills, but Captive State is continually hobbled by acting more like a mouthpiece for the state we are in rather than a memorable genre outing with characters we can root for. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinMar 15, 2019
In Captive State aliens have taken over the world (as they will), but it’s the viewers stuck watching this messy, lugubrious sci-fi thriller who may feel like the ones being held captive. Read full review
40
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 14, 2019
While director Rupert Wyatt's film has a handful of things going for it -- alien invaders, bursts of action, sociopolitical subtext, a stern-faced John Goodman -- it is missing one key element: a soul. Read full review
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