The Boys in the Boat
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: December 25, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
18
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
RogerEbert.comNell MinowJan 2, 2024
Director George Clooney understands the strength of this classic underdog story, and he knows how to tell it, with gorgeous visuals and heartfelt performances. Read full review
80
Film ThreatSabina Dana PlasseDec 29, 2023
The art direction and attention to detail in The Boys in the Boat are beautiful and well done, especially capturing the feathering of the rowing, the splashing and pools of water, and the creek of the rigging as the team of eight turns the oars with muscle and unison. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 2, 2024
Offering inspiration in both the truth of its basis and the way in which it is presented, The Boys in the Boat is an antidote to the pervasive cynicism of the modern era. Read full review
75
TheWrapTomris LafflyJan 2, 2024
It’s here to show you a respectably fun, inspiring time and it does just that. Read full review
75
The Film StageDan MeccaDec 18, 2023
This is a classical director, someone who clearly enjoys bringing the past to life. With The Boys in the Boat, he found the right book and the right actors in Turner and Edgerton. Read full review
75
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldDec 15, 2023
The Boys in the Boat is ultimately a tribute to a time long gone, to the power of teamwork, and to the grace with which an oar dips into the water on a sun-dappled lake. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriDec 26, 2023
The film is an unshowy but slick underdog sports picture, fluidly told and elegantly mounted. It’s about rowing, for chrissakes; it doesn’t have a post-modern or irreverent bone in its body, and for that, we can be at least a little grateful. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanDec 15, 2023
The Boys in the Boat is a gentleman’s sports movie, with Clooney working hard to make one “like they used to.” He brings it off, even if there’s a lingering quaintness to it all. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleAlejandra MartinezDec 20, 2023
Overall, Clooney has provided a fine time at the movies, with engaging sports sequences, thoughtful storytelling, impactful visuals, and great performances. Its focus can get a bit fuzzy, but this doesn’t dull the film’s overall shine. Read full review
67
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezDec 18, 2023
[Clooney's] out-of-current-fashion movies can feel quaint in some ways, but more power to the filmmaker who can make whatever the hell they want and do it well and do so on their own terms. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJan 2, 2024
It’s not that “The Boys in the Boat” doesn’t have an inspirational impact; it’s that we’re so aware of being pushed in that direction. Read full review
63
The Associated PressJocelyn NoveckJan 2, 2024
There is not much “edge” here, but Clooney and team prove that sometimes, slow and steady — or should we say, pretty and pleasing — can still win some races. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanDec 18, 2023
A good-looking, engrossing, true tale, superficially much like 1981 best-picture winner "Chariots of Fire," but without that Olympic drama's themes of antisemitism and faith. If The Boys in the Boat is missing something, it's substance. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeJan 15, 2024
It’s not bad exactly, but like many film-makers, Clooney is at his most interesting when he’s not afraid to make enemies. Read full review
60
Little White LiesHannah StrongJan 12, 2024
There’s just nothing here to cement The Boys in the Boat as anything other than a sort of interesting story made in a competent but uncomplicated manner. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'HaraJan 12, 2024
It’s unexceptionally filmed and occasionally clunky, but this is a gently heart-warming underdog story, and Turner shows real star-power in the lead role. Read full review
60
Time OutIan FreerJan 11, 2024
'We need an edge!' is Coach Ulbrickson’s verdict on his crew, and the same can be said about the film as a whole. But there is enough in The Boys in the Boat to keep you invested come the final showdown. Read full review
60
Total FilmKate StablesJan 8, 2024
Any attempt at Chariots of Fire-style emotional intensity is tanked, however, by Callum Turner’s unhelpfully laconic, low-key performance. Read full review
60
SlashfilmMarshall ShafferDec 15, 2023
The film tastes like the cinematic equivalent of Clooney's tequila brand Casamigos. That is to say, The Boys in the Boat goes down smoothly, if somewhat unremarkably. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenDec 15, 2023
It’s a handsome period piece that’s often too smooth around the edges, but with its old-fashioned sincerity and unforced insistence on team spirit, it has a certain all-ages appeal — assuming audiences of all ages are going to the movies this holiday season. Read full review
60
The Daily BeastNick SchagerDec 15, 2023
Hits many of the right feel-good notes. Unfortunately, it also strikes a lot of discordant ones, neutering most of its attempts at rousing inspiration. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubManuel BetancourtDec 15, 2023
You cheer on these boys but you’re not left with much once the credits roll and their story becomes but a wistful tale of a time gone by. Read full review
55
ABC NewsPeter TraversDec 29, 2023
A stirring true story about the triumph of an eight-man rowing crew at the 1936 Olympics fits right into director George Clooney’s old-fashioned love for underdogs, but the exciting races are muted by thinly developed personal dramas that feel pokey and predictable. Read full review
50
CNNBrian LowryDec 24, 2023
Steeped in old-fashioned virtues and a feel-good underdog story, The Boys in the Boat isn’t bad, but it doesn’t ever navigate its way out of the shallow end of the sports-movie pool either. Read full review
50
The New York TimesAmy NicholsonDec 24, 2023
The script is as subtle as a bonk on the nose, and the editing repeats every beat twice-over in broad pantomime and meaningful looks. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonDec 15, 2023
The Boys In The Boat is heartfelt and smoothly executed, but this inspirational drama cannot outrace the filmmaker’s staid, undemanding approach, which turns even the most stirring moments into predictable plot points. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichDec 15, 2023
The Boys in the Boat would be the most old-fashioned movie of the year even if the year were 1994. For at least the first half of Clooney’s latest movie, the comfort food of it all proves to be part of its gently stirring charm, stale as it might be. Read full review
42
Original-CinChris KnightJan 2, 2024
The Boys in the Boat is a by-the-numbers story that does little to distinguish itself from other underdog tales. The boys may be trying to take home gold, but this boat is taking on water. Read full review
40
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyJan 12, 2024
Clooney and his screenwriter, Mark L Smith, tell their story with rousing traditionalism, reinforced by Alexandre Desplat’s idealist score, but little more. Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyDec 15, 2023
The Boys in the Boat is autopilot Clooney – a pleasant, coddling watch almost ruthlessly shorn of depth or subtext. Read full review
40
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiDec 15, 2023
Where’s the passion and the drama, the heart and the tension? Clooney’s lackluster film strips all that away, leaving behind a muted sports film that barely engages with its characters in any meaningful way. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineEric HendersonDec 19, 2023
The film doesn’t break a single mold, and it doesn’t take long to realize that’s entirely the point. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreDec 15, 2023
Blandly-cast, dully-scripted and flatly-directed, the only moments of life in this story are tucked in that eight-man rowing shell. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzDec 15, 2023
The Boys in the Boat is a film made with such a gently dull spirit that you cannot help but wonder if Clooney put himself to sleep during production. Someone get this man a Nespresso. Read full review
30
ColliderChase HutchinsonDec 15, 2023
For being based on such a memorable story, it's incredible how forgettable The Boys in the Boat is. Clooney's direction is so empty and the writing so trite that it leaves the committed cast stranded out on the water with nowhere meaningful to go. Read full review
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