King Jack
Well Go USA Entertainment | Release Date: June 10, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesHelen T. VerongosJun 9, 2016
For everyone who ever had a close call as an adolescent and kept it from the grown-ups, King Jack will hit you where you live. The same for everyone who’s been pummeled by a bully or been left vulnerable by releasing a graphic selfie into the textosphere. Read full review
89
The VergeTasha RobinsonJun 10, 2016
For all Thompson's talent and promise, King Jack still rests most on the actors, and the way they suggest inner worlds deep enough to get lost in, without pushing or forcing the point. Read full review
80
CineVueMatthew AndersonJun 9, 2016
Thompson's strikingly assured and unflinching debut pumps new life into a well-trodden genre. Read full review
80
EmpireDavid ParkinsonFeb 29, 2016
An atmospheric rite of passage that suggests big things lie ahead for its writer-director and young cast. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonKate LloydFeb 22, 2016
With references to sexting and a hazy Instagram-filtered look, it would be easy to write ‘King Jack’ off as just another modern coming-of-age-story. What sets the movie apart though, is its ability to capture the fear of teenage-hood, without patronising its characters. Read full review
75
The PlaylistWill AshtonJun 20, 2016
Even when it’s in the shadow of other movies that have traversed this territory to greater effect, the talented young performers at hand bring a rooted sense of reality that still makes it sing with rhapsodic gravitas. Read full review
75
The Film StageJohn FinkJun 8, 2016
An impressive debut feature from Felix Thompson, King Jack is a powerful day-in-the-life drama. Read full review
75
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJun 7, 2016
King Jack, while unabashedly a coming-of-age story, is even better as a portrait of masculinity in crisis, of how its passed down from one generation to the next, and how that process might best be interrupted. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineTimothy E. RawJun 6, 2016
Harsh punishments are dished out in a way that jolts the material away from coming-of-age cliché. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckJun 14, 2016
Although it feels all too familiar with its storyline about a bullied 15-year-old, King Jack boasts an immediacy that makes it compelling throughout. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMichael RechtshaffenJun 9, 2016
Although he’s working with familiar tropes, writer-director Felix Thompson, in his feature debut, wisely keeps clear of big, dramatic moments, maintaining instead a palpable naturalism through dialogue that has an unmannered, improvised feel and acting that follows suit. Read full review
70
Village VoiceKenji FujishimaJun 8, 2016
This is thankfully no wallow in working-class miserablism. Read full review
70
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganJan 12, 2016
It’s authentic without being grim; moody and tentatively hopeful. There’s a British verite influence at play, but King Jack’s heart is positively American. Read full review
70
VarietyGuy LodgeJan 12, 2016
Thompson and his appealing young cast enliven the material with authentic, ingenuous feeling; there’s a palpable understanding here of the substantial difficulties involved in growing up under any circumstances, and Thompson’s script never condescends to its teen subjects with dewy-eyed nostalgia for youth. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJun 8, 2016
Rich detail and strong performances do battle with coming-of-age clichés in King Jack, an indie drama that winds up feeling overly beholden to the dictates of various screenwriting manuals. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawJun 9, 2016
For me, King Jack relies too much on violence for its dramatic voltage, but it’s a well-acted movie with heart – and it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comNick AllenJun 10, 2016
Lacking personality or insight, King Jack is a ho-hum tale of young aggression—been there, bruised that. Read full review
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