63
Metascore
7 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91IndieWireAlison ForemanIndieWireAlison ForemanFearlessly specific in its comedy and just as attentive with its character arcs, this algebraic study in adventure might have a metaphoric typo or two (insert obligatory comment about CGI), but it’s mostly a triumph.
- 83The A.V. ClubJason GorberThe A.V. ClubJason GorberIf you go into Bookworm expecting more of the same chills and thrills from Timpson and his collaborators, you may be put off by this far more accessible tale. Yet, peering closer, you can see reflections of the same rich emotional and character beats that have always been lingering within the more sordid genre trappings of Timpson’s previous work.
- 75Slant MagazineRocco T. ThompsonSlant MagazineRocco T. ThompsonAnt Timpson’s heartwarming Bookworm is an effulgent love letter to ’80s kid cinema laced with a distinctly quirky, Kiwi dryness.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreShifts in tone aside, you’d still have to call “Bookworm” a winner — or I would — with Wood at his most vulnerable and winning and Fisher justifying her chattering pedant paycheck serving up equal parts adorable and insufferable.
- 60ColliderChase HutchinsonColliderChase HutchinsonThere is just enough magic that it discovers by the end to give it a closing spark, but there is a mighty long road to get there, ensuring it all just remains merely okay as opposed to comprehensively good.
- 50Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonThe New Zealand landscapes could not be more enchanting, although the story lacks a similar magic.
- 50The Film StageC.J. PrinceThe Film StageC.J. PrinceTimpson, along with co-writer Toby Harvard, prefer to take the easy way for achieving their goals, the film leaning into dated comedy and a relentless charm offensive that makes its efforts too strained to fully embrace.