IF
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: May 17, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
46
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
21
Negative:
9
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeMay 19, 2024
F is an engaging kid-pleaser that celebrates the power of imagination and suggests that the key to overcoming the tough times might have been lurking in our minds all along. Read full review
60
Film ThreatAlan NgMay 17, 2024
The standout star here is Cailey Fleming as Bea. Read full review
60
The GuardianAdrian HortonMay 16, 2024
For a film that very much bills itself as a comedy, particularly through the lovable and literally bumbling character of Blue, If is fairly short on actual laughs. Instead, it settles by the end into misty-eyed, mostly earned sweetness, with the evergreen lesson of remembering love and playfulness as you grow up. Read full review
60
EmpireKelechi EhenuloMay 15, 2024
Far from perfect in its execution, but once IF hits its stride, Reynolds and Fleming keep this emotional adventure entertaining enough. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeMay 15, 2024
If comes together nicely in a moving denouement that almost makes sense of the fantastic clutter. Often touching. Often infuriating. Read full review
55
CNNBrian LowryMay 17, 2024
The best parts should strike a mildly receptive chord with parents while potentially boring younger kids, a prescription that could subject the movie’s imaginary friends to a harsh reality once audiences in summer-movie mode get a good look at it. Read full review
50
We Got This CoveredMarco Vito OddoMay 20, 2024
While 'IF's colorful creatures and set pieces might offer a temporary distraction, the weak script and superficial world building crumbles into dust at any sign of scrutiny. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMay 20, 2024
The narrative is all over the place. Character motivation is confusing. And, worst of all, the story simply isn’t interesting. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineJustin ClarkMay 19, 2024
The most charitable read on John Krasinski’s IF is that using your imagination shouldn’t be bound by traditional story structure, so why should a film about unfettered imagination need the same? Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchKatie WalshMay 17, 2024
With its nonsensical, confounding story, it might not be for anyone, even if its heart is in the right place. Read full review
50
SlashfilmEthan AndertonMay 17, 2024
On the positive side, Cailey Fleming makes for a compelling young lead with a touching performance. Read full review
50
The New York TimesAmy NicholsonMay 16, 2024
This is a film that spells out its intentions for an audience still learning its ABCs, a film where Michael Giacchino’s misty violins never stop insisting how to feel, where Krasinski’s goofy dad literally wears a heart on his chest. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckMay 15, 2024
There’s much here to appreciate, not least of which is the admirable attempt to simultaneously provide belly laughs for children and emotional resonance for adults. IF may be guilty of trying too hard, but it’s a refreshing change from so many family movies that barely seem to be trying at all. Read full review
50
Washington PostTy BurrMay 15, 2024
Because there’s little internal logic in IF, you may find yourself constantly asking why the characters are doing what they do, or how the whole imaginary-friend thing works within the context of the movie. Read full review
44
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerMay 15, 2024
The movie gets so wrapped up in sorting through the whimsical bureaucracy of discarded IFs that it forgets to create an actual world to hide it under. Read full review
42
IndieWireKate ErblandMay 15, 2024
Tonally, IF never finds a happy medium. Story-wise, it doesn’t bridge the gap between pure imagination and basic narrative flow. We don’t know what’s happening most of the time, and worst yet, we don’t know how to feel about it, no matter our age. That’s much more than a failure of just imagination. Read full review
41
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiMay 15, 2024
Krasinski’s film is a vague celebration of imagination and wonder, but it can’t imagine a world that makes sense or entertains, and that’s just not wonderful. Read full review
40
Total FilmKate StablesMay 16, 2024
IF is obviously aiming to be an E.T.-style family classic about kids and creatures on a healing journey. But its sticky sentimentality keeps it mawkish rather than magical. Read full review
40
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyMay 15, 2024
It’s intended to be disarmingly sincere – yet the director-writer-actor is so single-mindedly intent on delivering “wonder” that what he’s ended up with isn’t so much a film but a series of emotional cues. It’s the same experience, really, as sitting down to watch an hour-and-a-half video loop of dogs being adopted. Read full review
40
VarietyTomris LafflyMay 15, 2024
Krasinski’s concept borrows generously from Pixar films like “Monsters Inc.,” but is so chaotic and half-considered that you don’t feel as inspired as you should be, making it hard to submit to the film’s alternate reality. Read full review
40
IGNA.A. Dowd May 15, 2024
Though the celebrity cast is giant, none of the colorful creatures they’re voicing are particularly memorable. And Krasinski favors trite platitudes over any real insights into the adventure of growing up; his dialogue will leave you pining for the strategic, well, quiet of his last onscreen family. What IF lacks is what it champions: the magical imagination of childhood. Read full review
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