The Kid Detective
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) | Release Date: October 16, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Original-CinThom ErnstNov 12, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed Kid Detective. It’s not the kind of picture that wins awards, which is too bad because nestled within a traditional tale of a detective in need of redemption, is a story surprisingly unique and humane. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeNov 24, 2020
Writer-director Evan Morgan’s deft screenplay balances a taut crime story against a textured character study. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaOct 16, 2020
The Kid Detective is an unexpected mix of disparate elements that in the wrong hands could have resulted in lumpy parody but, fortunately, pours out as something smooth, funny, dark and potent. Read full review
80
VarietyTomris LafflyOct 15, 2020
Both entertainingly old-fashioned and defiantly fresh. Read full review
80
Screen DailyStephen Whitty Oct 15, 2020
Evan Morgan’s sometimes weird, sometimes whimsical thriller delivers a grown-up blend of film-noir tropes and deadpan humor, for a comedy-drama which starts off lighthearted and then deftly darkens. Read full review
80
Vanity FairRichard LawsonOct 15, 2020
It’s a thrill to watch a film that so cogently, shrewdly renders its ideas. It’s a case of high concept, adeptly cracked. Read full review
80
The GuardianBenjamin LeeOct 14, 2020
In writer-director Evan Morgan’s unusual neo-noir The Kid Detective, it’s not just a suspect or a motive that’s a red herring, it’s an entire genre, a strange rug-pull of a movie that starts in the middle of the road before ending up off a cliff, in a way that both works and doesn’t, a fascinating gambit nonetheless. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzNov 2, 2020
Early in the film, Morgan is careful to highlight Abe’s talent in predicting a movie’s twist (“She poisoned his drink!”). It is extremely doubtful, though, that anyone could guess what happens at the end of The Kid Detective. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 19, 2020
With its lesser-known cast, The Kid Detective was always going to get lost in the cinematic shuffle, with or without a pandemic closing most theaters. But Morgan and his new muse have concocted a whodunit that could give Hercule Poirot a run for his money in a contest for the year’s best mystery. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeOct 19, 2020
Morgan's script generously allows us to deduce the truth just before Abe stumbles across it, which is not to say it doesn't have some real surprises left. It's fun to watch Abe put A and B together, and to regain some of his self-respect in the process. Read full review
70
Screen RantMolly FreemanOct 15, 2020
At its core, The Kid Detective is also just a plain, entertaining mystery - that has a satisfying conclusion both for the case itself and Abe's journey. Anyone interested in the premise or in Brody's performance would do well with giving The Kid Detective a watch. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandOct 17, 2020
So, really, what does happen when a kid detective grows up? In Morgan’s hands, something curious, laced with pitch black comedy and a major dose of tragedy, a winking sense of genre, and a stellar performance from Brody. Read full review
67
The Film StageJared MobarakOct 15, 2020
It’s a good role for Brody by simultaneously feeding on the typecast nature of him being neurotic Seth Cohen from The O.C. and rejecting it by toning down the sarcasm and replacing it with fatigue. Read full review
50
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiOct 15, 2020
Laughter and enjoyment is stifled by the constant question of whether we’re allowed to laugh or enjoy anything at all. Read full review
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