Nyad
Netflix | Release Date: October 20, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
15
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Little White LiesDavid JenkinsFeb 16, 2024
It’s a film with some decent feel-good credo (if that type of thing floats your boat), and there’s certainly value in having a film about mature characters that isn’t horrendously winsome and patronising. Read full review
60
EmpireJohn NugentNov 3, 2023
A classic American sports movie, with all of its triumphs and clichés — kept afloat by two brilliant, warm lead performances from Annette Bening and Jodie Foster. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 25, 2023
This heartfelt story is always watchable. Read full review
60
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzOct 19, 2023
Perhaps fittingly, the directors’ big foray into Hollywood is saved by the star power of the two industry legends headlining the film. Bening and Foster are absolute delights from beginning to end. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeSep 14, 2023
While a dedicated Bening gives her all in a tough, physically demanding role, deserving of at least another nomination if not necessarily a win, it’s Foster who steals the film with a fine reminder of her easy charisma. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangSep 9, 2023
The movie, to its credit, harbors few illusions about Diana’s people skills. And it has, in Bening, an actor with a natural affinity for rough edges and sharp retorts, plus an ability to make emotional sense of a character’s fury. Read full review
58
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodSep 9, 2023
Foster is so good you’re often rooting for Stoll to succeed more than Nyad. And sometimes a performance like that is all you need for a feel-good story like this one. Read full review
55
The AtlanticDavid SimsNov 10, 2023
By making Nyad a narrative film, the movie succumbs to a lot of boring biopic-storytelling shorthand; Nyad sometimes states her goals and fears aloud in the middle of conversation. Much of the thuddingly expositional dialogue cannot escape the sense that it sprouted from an expanded Wikipedia page. Read full review
55
The Daily BeastNick SchagerOct 18, 2023
Just as there’s no reference to the many falsehoods Diana has apparently told about her past, there’s zero overt mention of the controversy surrounding her signature triumph—thereby proving that the film cares more about rah-rah uplift than thorny inquiry or messy reality. Read full review
50
Rolling StoneDavid FearNov 2, 2023
As a portrait of a friendship, one tested by decades of high times and lows, successes and failures, bad behavior and forgiveness, Nyad the movie is trawling deeper waters. As a bio-dramatization of one human’s resilience — and thus a stand-in for the triumph of the human spirit overall — it comes perilously close to merely treading them. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDavid RobbOct 24, 2023
As the film wears on, Diana’s personal motivations are increasingly blurred, and to the point that she comes to be defined almost exclusively by the adversity over which she triumphs. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleOct 17, 2023
While Flamin’ Hot might be of questionable truthfulness, Longoria used that history to craft an undeniably charming Mexican American success story. Nyad offers shades of that same charm, but more than a few creative choices get between the film and success. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreSep 13, 2023
For all that Nyad is happy to show its subject’s personality flaws, it has trouble finding her humanity, Read full review
40
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiOct 28, 2023
It strips Nyad of her complexities for something a bit too formulaic. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyOct 13, 2023
Nyad’s theme of women pulling together just about lands – thanks chiefly to Foster. But following the recipe of human interest this slavishly is a fast track to not being very interesting at all. Read full review
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