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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
29
Mixed:
24
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews
Mar 22, 2021
Season 3 Review:
Aretha is an uneven yet largely thoughtful, gripping and visually stunning portrait of a generational talent. Its sensitive, though not hagiographic, narrative illuminates a superstar with a widely beloved body of work but a poorly understood biography and inner life.
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Mar 15, 2021
Season 3 Review:
Understanding Franklin’s familial relationships are key to her music and her life, but the layers upon layers of context can make some segments drag. This is a dilemma most biopics face, however, and Aretha makes up for it with a bevy of whip-smart performers and breathtaking melodic sequences.
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Apr 23, 2018
Season 2 Review:
We’ve all heard the names of the series’ subjects so far (and next year’s subject, author Mary Shelley), and may know something about them — perhaps a lot about them. But the addition of solid performances and attention to production details of setting, design and costumes enhances our knowledge and goes a long way toward making us want to know--and see--more.
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Apr 25, 2017
Apr 20, 2017
Season 1 Review:
It feels like the producers didn’t trust that we would pay attention to Genius without some blood and nudity thrown in. But we would, actually, thanks to the stellar performances from Rush and Flynn. Both actors combine to bring a legendary genius vividly to life in a way that we’ve never seen on screen before.
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Mar 22, 2021
Season 3 Review:
In Erivo's hands the musical sequences soar, and enough of such scenes run throughout these eight hours to make the show worth devouring whole. But it's not an entirely satisfying experience because this third "Genius" suffers from the same core problem as the Picasso and Einstein seasons, which is that we see little to nothing that illuminates source of Aretha's genius.
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Mar 18, 2021
Season 3 Review:
["Genius: Aretha"] has an argument, and an opportunity to shake up the format. It does — sometimes. The new “Genius” spends most of its time in routine music-biopic mode: exposition, childhood traumas, historical checkpoints. But in the moments when it finds its groove, thanks to Erivo’s incandescent performance and its insight into Franklin’s process, it socks it to us. ... “Aretha” is a vibrant effort to give her artistry some R-E-S-P-E-C-T, even if we don’t entirely find out what it means to her.
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TV Guide MagazineMar 15, 2021
Season 3 Review:
Erivo sustains a quiet strength in dramatic scenes that erupts into passionate fire when she's onstage or in the recording studio. ... [The writing] frequently lapses into fawning biopic cliche. ... To its credit, Genius doesn't present its legendary subject as a saint. [15-28 Mar 2021, p.10]
Mar 15, 2021
Season 3 Review:
Erivo does a more than credible job of imitating Franklin’s voice, and producer Raphael Saadiq recreates the sounds of those records, too. But the ongoing unhappiness shown in adult Aretha threatens to turn her into someone you’d hardly want to spend too much time with, which is the exact opposite of the impression Franklin always gave.
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TV Guide MagazineApr 12, 2018
Season 2 Review:
The marquee star (Antonio Banderas, channeling an Anthony Quinn-like virility as the established maestro) risks being upstaged by the lesser-known actor (Alex Rich) who plays his younger self in vivid flashbacks. ... Seeing this world through his eyes, we're afforded a tantalizing taste of genius. [16 Apr - 29 Apr 2018, p.13]
Feb 1, 2024
Season 4 Review:
More than anything, “MLK/X” exhibits a clear desire to humanize its subjects, conveying the men, women and personal sacrifices behind the myths and legends. While it generally succeeds on that level, the denseness of that history comes at the expense of slowing its march.
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