I Declare War
Drafthouse Films | Release Date: August 30, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
6
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierAug 29, 2013
There’s social commentary in all of this, but it takes a back seat to a surprisingly compelling narrative of the two combating teams. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzAug 29, 2013
The directors (Lapeyre also wrote the film) have gathered a terrific bunch of young actors for the film, which plays at times like a “Lord of the Flies” knockoff but also has something original to say. Read full review
75
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJul 29, 2013
It’s engrossing, violent, frightening and funny in the ways it captures the way kids speak with no adults around, and the way kids act when society’s rules take a back seat in time of war. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenJul 29, 2013
The narrative meanders on occasion, the conceit can seem repetitious, the editing is loose. Nevertheless, buoyed by the naturalism of its exclusively young cast, the picture effectively gets into your head and under your skin. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesAnnlee EllingsonAug 29, 2013
An entertaining and insightful portrait of boyhood. Read full review
70
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlAug 27, 2013
Exciting and thoughtful, scraped free of the empty provocations of the wicked-pixie Hit-Girl scenes in Kick-Ass, I Declare War offers movie thrills—smartly plotted betrayals and escapes—as well as its share of disappointments. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeAug 23, 2013
Co-directors Jason Lapeyre and Robert Wilson balance humor and fun with a little fear in a thoroughly accessible way. Read full review
70
The DissolveScott TobiasJul 29, 2013
I Declare War holds off as long as it can before dumping its emotional payload. Until then, the film gets uncomfortable laughs from the games children play, and play for keeps. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve DavisAug 28, 2013
In the end, I Declare War is both enthralling and a little frustrating in its refusal to fit neatly in any box. Its unpredictable tone clicks back and forth between the comical and the serious like the safety catch on a firearm. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottSep 20, 2013
While it's enjoyable enough to watch, there's no slam-dunk takeaway here. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyAug 28, 2013
The problem, mainly, is that Lapeyre’s kids are stock types: runts, bullies, toadies, a girl with a big crush. In essence, they are kids’-movie tropes pretending to be war-movie tropes — one layer of generic material being used to cover another. Read full review
50
Boston GlobePeter KeoughAug 29, 2013
Imagination is what these filmmakers could use more of, as their ingenious concept doesn’t develop much beyond a gimmick. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerAug 24, 2013
The film rarely takes us past its rather obvious conclusions about the potential bestial nature of kids and how that may translate to the larger battlefields. Read full review
42
The PlaylistGabe ToroSep 5, 2013
A crude sketch of a film that could barely withstand a short-form, but instead has been stretched to agonizing feature length by directors Robert Wilson and Jason Lapeyre. Read full review
40
CineVueNick HiltonJun 3, 2014
Unfortunately, despite its good central idea, Lapeyre and Wilson's execution is disappointingly poor. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonAug 30, 2013
I Declare War is like high school English class, rife with confusing symbolism and full of sound and fury that ultimately signifies nothing. Read full review
30
VarietyJoe LeydonSep 5, 2013
The concept is thought-provoking but the execution is flat-footed. Read full review
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