What Critics Think About Clooney's Boys in the Boat

A new film directed by George Clooney has an interesting dynamic going on—audiences seem to love The Boys in the Boat (with a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), while critics are underwhelmed (56%). The movie, out Christmas Day, retells the true story of the University of Washington rowing team that competed in the 1936 Olympics. A sampling of reviews:

• Sports biopics often wind up being formulaic, and that's exactly the problem here, writes Noah Berlatsky at CNN. It "follows the usual trajectory with so little deviation you almost feel like you should shout, 'Drink!' at each expected plot 'twist.'"

• The acting is "solid," writes Michael O'Sullivan in the Washington Post, who give a particular nod to Hadley Robinson and Luke Slattery. He also credits Clooney for "crafting a narrative that manages to evoke more suspense than it has any right to," though ultimately, he finds the movie lacking in "substance." It has the same vibe of the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, though the earlier film tackled issues such as antisemitism.
• At Variety, Owen Gleiberman calls it Clooney's best directorial effort since The Ides of March more than a decade ago, but he detects a "lingering quaintness" about it. If the movie "reminds you that Clooney, as a filmmaker, has always been a Hollywood classicist at heart, it's also a testament to how out of time that kind of filmmaking now seems. Who would have guessed that the Oscars would now be far too hip for a movie like this one?"
• At one point in the movie, the rowing coach tells his crew they "need an edge," writes Sheri Linden at the Hollywood Reporter. The movie could have used one, too, she adds. Still, "it gets the job done, stumbling sometimes but mostly assured."

(More movie review stories.)