Secondhand Lions
New Line Cinema | Release Date: September 19, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
17
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Film ThreatKevin Carr
It's a feel-good movie, but not in a bad way. It makes you feel good the way that “Forrest Gump” made you feel good, as if the filmmakers were seriously trying to make a fun, wholesome, entertaining movie without taking on the industry with a moral agenda. Read full review
88
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Entertaining, thrilling and honestly sentimental, it's an equal-opportunity crowd-pleaser. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It's not perfect - infrequently the comedy and drama rub up against each other too much - but it is the genuine article: a wholly unique family film that can moisten your eyes even while it quickens your pulse. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Has enough charm and whimsy to capture the attention and imagination of children and parents alike, and arguably represents one of the best live-action family films to enter theaters this year. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Smart and entertaining almost every step of the way. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
When a director has two actors as iconic and skillful as Robert Duvall and Michael Caine for his leads, all he has to do is point the camera in their direction and it's hard to go wrong. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A gentle and sweet whimsy, attentive to the love between the two brothers, respectful of the boy's growth and curiosity. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldCharles Savage
Even without handicapping for the limitations of its gentle genre, the film has moments of whimsical humor and thoughtful plotting that soar tantalizingly close to something that could be enjoyed on its own merits. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Writer-director Tim McCanlies works in broad, kid-friendly strokes, and he's not afraid to lay on the sentiment, but his cast makes sure it's well-earned. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
Awash in nostalgia, "Lions" combines a gentle coming-of-age story with swashbuckling fantasy. While it lacks a necessary tension in its establishing scenes and might be too soft for those who prefer grittier fare. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
May be pure hokum, but at least it knows how to spin a yarn. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
This is the sort of funny, humane, honorable story that families need more of, though viewers of any age should be hooked by the mystery surrounding the brothers' riches. Read full review
60
VarietyRonnie Scheib
May score higher with parents than the kids they bring in tow. Writer-director Tim McCanlies' ("Dancer, Texas Pop. 81") feel-good celebration of youth and old age enriching each other is carefully leavened with humor. Read full review
60
EmpireJoe Berry
Caine and Duvall paired on screen would be worth the price of admission even if they were just reading the Yellow Pages. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyScott Brown
With no baseline ''truth'' to be found among the cartoony characters and cheesy twists, the whole production feels like a Texas-size load of secondhand lyin'. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
Osment, playing a fatherless 14-year-old, has entered the sort of awkward adolescence that afflicts so many male child stars - and seems utterly intimidated by his esteemed co-stars. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
The movie, though predictable and formulaic, is not that simple, although it might have been better off had it been so basic. It interweaves clichés from several other genres and ends up a mishmash of stories. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
One of those headed-for-cable oddities that must have sounded like a good idea at the time. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Mr. McCanlies's style lurches between the lyrical, the fantastical (flashbacks to the uncles' youth) and the clumsily antic, and Mr. Osment's performance is woefully stiff and inexpressive.
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
A predictable outcome is not bad if it's fun getting to it. But this story is so lamely conceived and presented that it's a grind. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineSabrina Rojas Weiss
Granted, it's unfair to compare an actor's precocious child persona with his awkward 14-year-old self, but Osment relies so often on his furrowed brow to convey emotion that you have to keep reminding yourself that the technique actually worked in "The Sixth Sense." Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Edgeless as a marshmallow and twice as syrupy. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Slow and ultimately distressing. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Coming-of-age schmaltz fest. Read full review
50
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
These pros lift this button-pushing blob of faux folksiness to a higher plane than it deserves. Read full review
40
Village VoiceEd Park
The self-consciousness is unintentionally touching, but it wet-blankets the film into a thirdhand lark. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
The only saving grace is that Caine and Duvall don’t overdo the southern-coot stuff. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
Despite the considerable imagination that has gone into realizing period scenes on a modest budget, all the episodes (past and present) feel hurried and clipped, like they've been passed through too many impatient editing-room hands, and the picture never fully absorbs you. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Something we want to like more than we can. It's a mild family film with an excellent cast that never develops traction. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneAllison Benedikt
With such a bang-up cast, this setup could at least elicit some tears, but in its 107 minutes, nary a one welled up in my eyes. Read full review
30
Dallas ObserverRobert Wilonsky
Cornier than the cornfields spread out in front of the dilapidated rural Texas manse inhabited by Robert Duvall and Michael Caine, playing grumpy old brothers with mismatched accents. Read full review
30
Washington PostStephen Hunter
It's pretty appalling, and it's boring. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
It's less a children's movie made for contemporary children than a children's movie made for people who still remember, and pine for, how children's movies were made 50 years ago. Read full review
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