Midnight's Children
108 Media | Release Date: April 26, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
10
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Portland OregonianMarc MohanMay 9, 2013
Not only compelling and complex, but educational. Read full review
80
EmpireKim NewmanApr 1, 2013
Thanks to Rushdie's sensitive handling of his own material, this is an adaptation big in both ideas and heart. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMay 3, 2013
The film’s political scope is wide, beginning in 1917 and extending for sixty years, and, especially in the first hour or so, the antic, magical tone of Rushdie’s novel is sustained. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesMary HoulihanJul 3, 2013
There’s simply too much going on here — too many subplots, too many symbols, too many expendable characters — and certain interesting threads aren’t able to develop fully. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigMay 10, 2013
The film is beautifully shot, with vivid production design. But because of the tale's lack of cohesion, it doesn't carry enough emotional heft. Read full review
63
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeApr 26, 2013
The result is no masterpiece, but neither is it a disaster. In its steady great-books way, the film is often truthful and moving. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerApr 21, 2013
Preserves much of the novel's intricacy and human drama, perhaps due to Salman Rushdie's involvement as co-screenwriter, even if it remains singularly unremarkable from a cinematic perspective. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghMay 9, 2013
The ambitious visual stylings don’t do enough to buoy a film that lacks a certain soaring spirit. If the adaptation is serviceable, it’s also dull — a disappointing fate for a story that’s anything but. Read full review
60
The New York TimesRachel SaltzApr 25, 2013
The film needs an injection of Bollywood’s unembarrassed, anything-goes, bigger-than-life spirit, which embraces willy-nilly — as does Mr. Rushdie’s novel — the vulgar, the fanciful and the frankly unbelievable. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanApr 25, 2013
To be sure, there are many reasons to see the film. The cinematography is memorably vibrant, and the performances are solid, even if they pass by too swiftly. Most of all, of course, the subject matter remains fascinating. Read full review
60
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlApr 23, 2013
Even if you've read the novel, and are prepared for the long running time and haphazard structure, this isn't a movie you should expect to feel or even closely follow. See it if Midnight's Children is a novel you always wanted the gist of. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawApr 1, 2013
The movie's pace flags a good deal once Bangladesh has been born in 1971, and the adult characters are much less interesting than their child counterparts, but there's enough here to entertain – and to send audiences back to the book. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberApr 1, 2013
Despite the solid work of cast and crew, the film dawdles and fails to justify its two-and-a-half-hour running time. Midnight reaches its tender conclusion without ever achieving the emotional or dramatic heft that such an epic tale requires. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeApr 1, 2013
It’s a vibrant journey, but not a terribly illuminating one. Read full review
50
IndieWireEric KohnApr 1, 2013
At times Midnight's Children balances off its earnestness with a sweeping view of history and tangible human drama, but the allegorical qualities of Rushdie's novel fail to translate as anything but a shrill, on-the-nose instance of thematic overreaching. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMay 2, 2013
A flavorless feast, with the movie's few mystical leaps clunkily handled. Read full review
40
Time OutEric HynesApr 23, 2013
A miniseries, which the BBC once planned, might have worked. In this form, Midnight’s Children has the paradoxical misfortune of being both too rushed and too wearingly long. Read full review
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