Flash of Genius
Universal Pictures | Release Date: October 3, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
It's exhilarating in an authentic, pathos-streaked way to see Kearns, through Greg Kinnear's inspired characterization of a wary obsessive, representing himself during his trial against Ford Motor Co. for stealing his design. Read full review
91
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
An uncompromising and ultimately chilling look at individual creativity trampled by corporate greed, and its timing could not be more appropriate. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Alda gives the film's strongest performance. Kinnear, often a player of light comedy, does a convincing job of making this quiet, resolute man into a giant slayer. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Kinnear does what he's done in the past: You underestimate the guy's acting chops, and suddenly, strikingly, he floors you. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
It's a smart movie for grownups, an increasingly rare commodity. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Kearns' conflict is readable in Kinnear's every word and gesture. His performance is worth cheering. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
An enjoyable way to start the Oscar season. Read full review
70
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
That movie is not half bad, either. The trial, by comparison, will feel familiar to anyone who has ever watched any David take on any corporate Goliath before a court of law ("Erin Brockovich," "A Civil Action," etc., etc.). Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The individual components of director Marc Abraham's David-and-Goliath drama are roundly unexceptional; the script, soft and teach-y; the performances, earnest. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
In short, Flash of Genius fails to make viewers care with any depth about the story it's telling. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The courtroom scenes emphasize the movie's potency as a David and Goliath saga. But the film's strength lies in its fact-based story of a wronged man turned crusader, played with vigor by Kinnear. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
The flaws of Flash of Genius are worth putting up with for Kinnear's committed performance. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The problem with Flash of Genius is that a windshield wiper is an awfully thin mechanism on which to hang a feature movie. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
It's not a lightning show, but "Flash" still shines. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
No matter how noble, not everyone's life should be made into a movie. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterPeter Brunette
It's also solidly constructed throughout and the acting is impeccable. The problem is that it just lumbers along for two solid hours, never rising to any significant emotional or philosophical heights. Read full review
50
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Moderately inspiring in the way such true-life stories of "the indomitable human spirit" are always constructed to be. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleJosh Rosenblatt
Maybe he was a sucker, but it was his belief in the fundamental decency of American institutions that made his struggle for redemption so winning, much more so than the movie that was made to honor it. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesMark Olsen
Wants so much to be liked, even with its prickly, difficult hero, that it misses the mark of nonobviousness necessary not only for a patent, but also for a thrilling, original work. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderReece Pendleton
The cast is excellent--especially Kinnear, who's perfected his wounded everyman persona--and Marc Abraham's direction is elegant and understated. But their work is seriously undermined by the skeletal script. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
It has the tone and texture of a well-made but forgettable television movie. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The problem with Flash of Genius isn't that the subject is dull but that the movie is. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Mr. Kinnear is fine; he's an actor we always like, and he gives a skillful, heartfelt performance. The problem is the material -- dramatic in the describing but painfully predictable in the telling. Read full review
40
Film ThreatRick Kisonak
The role is ill-suited for Kinnear's talents. Abraham's pacing is glacial, the cinematography is flat, the score by Jill Savitt is suited better to a supermarket and then there's the fact that the climax can be seen coming a mile away. Maybe the biggest, though, is its failure to play fair with the audience. Read full review
20
Village VoiceRobert Wilonsky
Greg Kinnear, usually kinetic, is unusually (and unbearably) dull. Read full review
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