Carrier
PBS | Release Date: April 27, 2008
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Christian Science MonitorGloria Goodale
Season 1 Review: Compelling. Read full review
90
Newark Star-LedgerAlan Sepinwall
Season 1 Review: That balance of viewpoints--positive and negative, tragic and comic--is what makes Carrier such extraordinary viewing. Read full review
90
NewsdayDiane Werts
Season 1 Review: The 10 hours of PBS' immersive miniseries Carrier are frank and intimate, hard-hitting and heart-rending, rocking (with hit songs) and rolling (when the ship pitches so sharply, planes can't land). Read full review
88
New York PostAdam Buckman
Season 1 Review: Titled Carrier, this series from Mel Gibson's Icon Productions might be the most candid look at everyday life on board a U.S. warship in wartime that has ever been filmed. Read full review
80
Boston GlobeMatthew Gilbert
Season 1 Review: The filmmakers deliver a fine balance of both elated big-gun worship and humiliated bathroom cleaning, melting-pot team-making and the cliquishness of ethnic groups. Read full review
80
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob Owen
Season 1 Review: What sets Carrier apart is the amount of time devoted to this single topic, a whopping 10 hours. I made it through the first three hours without losing interest, but I wonder how many viewers will gut it out for the duration. Read full review
80
SalonHeather Havrilesky
Season 1 Review: With a careful mix of respect, curiosity and humor, the filmmakers offer a colorful and surprisingly nuanced tour of the day-to-day operations of the USS Nimitz during a six-month deployment in 2005, from California to Hong Kong, Guam, Bahrain and Perth, Australia. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineMatt Roush
Season 1 Review: With its scenic photography, slick editing and relentless pop-rock soundtrack, Carrier has the feel of a movie, or maybe the world's longest recruitment video. It's also an engrossing, rewarding and addictive study of personal endurance and sacrifice. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesRobert Lloyd
Season 1 Review: But even at 10 hours, Carrier feels cursory and incomplete. That's not to say that at most any given moment it's uninteresting--it's quite watchable--just that it doesn't add up to as much as it should. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsDavid Hinckley
Season 1 Review: Like the Navy, Carrier is perfect for some and probably isn't for everyone. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian Lowry
Season 1 Review: Clearly, the producers have endeavored to offer a snapshot of their service, but because Carrier lacks a sharp point of view, there's a kind of "duh" quality to the results. Read full review
40
Washington PostTom Shales
Season 1 Review: Those who wade into Carrier might not want to be quitters, either, but after four or five hours, they may find they'd really rather be checking out who's survived on "American Idol." Read full review
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