Trophy
CNN Films | Release Date: September 8, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
80
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzSep 8, 2017
Trophy strives to be kind and fair. But it is unmerciful in its exploration of the hunting business. Like a ruthless lawyer, it loves poking holes in arguments that appear rock-solid. Read full review
100
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisSep 7, 2017
The intimacy of the film’s images and the surprising candor of its participants are disarming: Whatever your initial response, be prepared to re-evaluate. Read full review
100
IndieWireJude DryJan 25, 2017
Trophy tells a story as captivating as its images are beautiful. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleSep 14, 2017
With lines drawn along politics, class, race and economics, the strange-bedfellows issue of top-dollar killing and queasy conservation is one that Trophy...lays bare with gruesome, grim exactitude. Read full review
90
VarietyNick SchagerJan 25, 2017
Trophy’s wealth of conflicting facts, figures, and arguments routinely force one to re-calibrate their feelings about the issues at hand. The result is a lament for both the animals at the center of so many crosshairs, and for a modern world seemingly only capable of saving lives by taking them. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerSep 8, 2017
Trophy is a documentary that can make the stomach turn and the head spin. It’s about the big-stakes world of hunting and conservationism, and what’s surprising is how morally intertwined the two activities are. Read full review
83
The Film StageDan MeccaJan 25, 2017
Schwarz is determined to give us the full view of this issue, and it’s much appreciated. Read full review
80
Time OutTrevor JohnstonDec 5, 2017
The film has no easy answers, but it does strenuously challenge all sides of the argument. Which is exactly what you want from a great documentary. Read full review
80
Village VoiceBilge EbiriJan 26, 2017
Don’t let the beauty of its images fool you; it’s a supremely confrontational, even infuriating work. It’s hard to know what to make of Trophy, and something tells me the filmmakers wouldn’t want it any other way. Read full review
80
Screen DailyAnthony KaufmanJan 25, 2017
Some issues, Trophy powerfully conveys, are bigger and broader than they initially appear. Read full review
79
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpSep 14, 2017
It’s a calculated and logical film about an altogether illogical subject. Read full review
75
Washington PostPat PaduaSep 28, 2017
To its credit, Trophy neither shames its subjects nor offers an easy solution. Rather, it takes a reasoned and thought-provoking view — from many angles — of a problem for which there is, as Trophy argues, no quick or simple fix. Read full review
75
The PlaylistOktay Ege Kozak Jan 27, 2017
The doc does an admirable job of giving pretty much equal screen time to hunters, conservationists, and other experts on all sides of the argument, even though it becomes pretty clear early on where the directors stand as far as their personal feelings on the subject are concerned. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinSep 7, 2017
Nothing in Trophy shakes out neatly, because everyone onscreen has his or her own set of values and every value is in conflict. The movie is richer in every way for its tangled sympathies. It will leave you angry, sick, and confused — but not smug. Never smug. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeSep 6, 2017
Trophy isn't as good at drawing moral conclusions as it is at laying out the difficult issues around hunting, conservationism and the trade in animal parts. But the film will be involving for those on all sides of animal-welfare debates. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleDanielle WhiteSep 20, 2017
Trophy instead holds its subject right up to the light, like a diamond, so that all facets can be seen. It may not rouse the public to action, but it will give us something to ponder. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloSep 6, 2017
It’s also slightly unfortunate — though admittedly no fault of director Shaul Schwarz (assisted by Christina Clusiau) — that Trophy covers a lot of the same ground as did recent Netflix documentary "The Ivory Game." Read full review
63
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonSep 2, 2017
It goes a long way toward complicating our moral assumptions about trophy hunting, as well as a host of other wildlife issues, including conservation, poaching, rhino farms, and the proper balance between man and nature. Read full review
60
TheWrapDan CallahanJan 25, 2017
Saving endangered animals is not a matter of sentimentality and lifting one up above another. It involves facing hard facts and brokering some compromises, and Trophy makes us fully aware of this. Read full review
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