The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52
Bleecker Street Media | Release Date: July 9, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
67
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Original-CinKim HughesJul 13, 2021
The Loneliest Whale is gripping and highly persuasive, blending hard science with real-life action/adventure sequences, talking-head interviews, and — sorry, sorry — a whale of a true story that has been headline news for years. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekJul 9, 2021
Even if you don’t care much about whales, or don’t think you do, Joshua Zeman’s enthusiastic documentary The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 might make you care about people who care about whales. Read full review
75
TheWrapCarlos AguilarJul 8, 2021
While Zeman’s enthusiasm is occasionally infectious, his conjectures, explained in voiceover, are riddled with platitudes and self-centered sound bites that say more about an egotistical need to be the first at something, to be the one who found 52, than about our connection with our large swimming counterparts. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJul 8, 2021
Neither slick nor propulsive, The Loneliest Whale gently combines aquatic adventure and bobbing meditation on our own species’s environmental arrogance. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineMark JenkinsJun 26, 2021
While 52 remains something of a mystery, The Loneliest Whale renders him less of a metaphor. Read full review
60
The GuardianCath ClarkeApr 4, 2022
This is a film raised a fair few notches by the wonder of geekery, the absolute joy of seeing scientists living and breathing their work. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenJul 9, 2021
The preceding journey might have been smoother, but the doc is a reminder that we still know so little about the oceans and their inhabitants, and an illustration of how much hope we attach to them. Read full review
50
VarietyTomris LafflyJul 8, 2021
The result is a well-meaning but somewhat granola, partly engaging yet disorganized documentary, one that searches for an imprecise story and struggles to keep its chief ambitions afloat. Read full review
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