News of the World
Universal Pictures | Release Date: December 25, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
73
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 45 Critic Reviews
Positive:
38
Mixed:
6
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Total FilmErlingur EinarssonFeb 10, 2021
Tom Hanks gives a fine leading performance as Captain Kidd, yet the plot falls into problematic stereotypes at times. Read full review
60
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJan 24, 2021
This isn’t a bad movie. The problem is that it’s too nice a movie, too careful and compromised, as if its makers didn’t trust the audience to handle the real news of the world. Read full review
60
Rolling StoneK. Austin CollinsDec 30, 2020
This movie, like Hanks and Greengrass’s Captain Philips, only excites — quite capably — when it needs to. Greengrass’ trademark efficiency as a storyteller is very much here. But more often the movie sticks to the contemplative: a moody character study with dashes of hillside danger and inner turmoil and post-war social conflict and all the rest — the allspice seasoning of the adult western genre. Read full review
60
CNNBrian LowryDec 24, 2020
Overall, News of the World is a solid if unspectacular film, presenting a familiar story against an interesting historical backdrop. It just doesn't deliver quite the much-needed escape from their troubles to a contemporary audience that Kidd promises his crowds. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeDec 11, 2020
Suspense is not the film’s strong suit, and while the trek in between needn’t be dull, Greengrass has made it curiously unengaging. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawFeb 9, 2021
Tom Hanks leads this handsomely shot but stolid and blandly self-satisfied western. Read full review
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