Wimbledon
Universal Pictures | Release Date: September 17, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
20
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
A sports movie with a quick wit, uncommon grace and a romantic soul.
80
SalonCharles Taylor
Slick, satisfying entertainment, as is the chemistry of Dunst and Bettany. Read full review
80
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
The movie is smart, funny, romantic, and rousing. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Terribly tender, good-hearted picture. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Nothing more than amiable fluff, yet Bettany infuses it with a brazen dash of reality. You believe in him, even when you don't quite believe in the movie. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This is not a great movie, and you will be able to live quite happily without seeing it, but what it does, it does with a certain welcome warmth. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
A crowd-pleaser. Read full review
75
PremiereStaff (Not Credited)
It's capable and strong direction that hold the audience through the final match, but in the end, it's Paul Bettany's world, and the rest of us are just happy to visit for an hour and a half. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
A bit of a philosophical muddle, but the climactic tennis scenes are galvanically convincing, with some long, nerve-racking volleys. And the rest of the picture works as "Notting Hill" (1999) with balls--and rackets. Read full review
70
Film ThreatRick Kisonak
You aren't likely to see a film with more warmth and good humor anytime soon or one that does more to give feel good filmmaking a good name. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Wimbledon may have its faults, but it's the sort of upbeat fantasy that's tough to resist. Maybe love wins in tennis after all. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
A slick comedy that's more fun than it has any right to be. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
As a love story, Wimbledon is a washout. As a meditation on sports psychology, it might help improve your game. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
While Bettany and Dunst are both appealing, their chemistry lacks much fizz. As it is, the pair seem less like lovers than bouncy transatlantic cousins. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Bettany is the best thing about the movie. A wonderful dramatic actor, he also proves to be richly skilled at romantic comedy, playing Peter with an easy grace and a droll sense of humor. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterSheri Linden
Boasts appealing leads and dazzling court play, but the film never rises above its by-the-numbers plot to generate emotional heat. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Although Wimbledon is a much more conventional film, it still has cleverer-than-average dialogue and sharply drawn subsidiary characters. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineAngel Cohn
Bettany, previously best known as a supporting player, shoulders the burden of a Hugh Grant-style romantic lead surprisingly well, revealing an offbeat charm. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
The Bjorn Borg of romantic comedies: precise, good-looking, dependable and serviceable, if predictable. It never really heats up, which is too bad. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderHank Sartin
Never quite settles on a tone, veering from wacky comedy to earnest sports drama to romantic farce. The results are predictably muddled, if mostly harmless. Read full review
60
EmpireAngie Errigo
The tennis itself is ridiculously far-fetched, and yet this may still be the best tennis movie ever made. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Surprisingly, the weak link is Dunst, who's previously been the delight of all her movies. Read full review
50
VarietyJustin Chang
A fanciful tennis-themed romance that compounds the old dilemma of "Will he get the girl?" with "Will he get the trophy?" But the answers are too predictable and laughs too scattered for this middling Universal release to generate much in the way of humor or suspense. Read full review
50
Village VoiceJessica Winter
The appealing leads have strong chemistry, but it's the wrong kind: an affectionate big-brother/little-sister rapport that leaves a discomfiting taint on their more amorous clinches. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Director Richard Loncraine (Richard III) moves things right along, but during the final tennis match, his pacing is undone by sports-movie convention, particularly the witless color commentary offered by tennis legends John McEnroe and Chris Evert. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
There's no script to speak of, just two appealing actors volleying comic-romantic cliches at each other. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It's a harmless enough movie, and quite a good-looking one; Bettany and Dunst are an attractive enough couple, even if Lizzie has been written as a selfish little snip and he as a whining man-child. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
As messages go, I've certainly heard worse. As movies go, Wimbledon is a generally painless float down a lazy river. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
An ultra-predictable if essentially painless romantic comedy. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
The cinematic equivalent of a careless foot fault. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianKaren Karbo
The only genuine laughs come from Peter's self-sabotaging inner monologue. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
The best thing about all of this is Bettany. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Wimbledon is refried "Notting Hill" with a Teen People glaze. The latter movie also gave us an American star cheering up some tired British guy. Wimbledon is blander and far less worth rooting for. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleCarla Meyer
There's no hiding a hokey love story that undercuts the picture's compelling tennis scenes. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
The perfect movie for 14-year-old girls having a slumber party, and a must for everyone else to avoid. Read full review
More From This Movie

59 Critic Reviews

7.8 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL