New Ben Stiller ‘Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ Movie Got Mixed Reviews From Top Critics
New Ben Stiller ‘Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ movie got mixed reviews from top critics. 20th Century FOX released their new adventure/comedy flick, “The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty” into theaters this past Tuesday,December 24th, and the reviews from the top critics are in. It got mixed reviews with a 54 score out of 100 across 37 critic reviews over at metacritic.com. It stars: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn,and Sean Penn.
Joe Neumaier at New York Daily News, gave it a great 100 score, stating, “The story Stiller tells manages to float in a most peculiar, satisfying way.” Peter Keough from the Boston Globe, gave it a solid 75 score, stating, “The quest ends in a surprise Capra-esque resolution, which both satisfies and cloys.”
Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times, gave it a 70 grade. He said, “Stiller’s sensibility creates a movie that’s smarter than you think it will be.” Chris Nashawaty at Entertainment Weekly, gave it a 67 score, stating, “In the end, Walter Mitty is a film about acting out our dreams. But Stiller never quite shows us the soul of his dreamer.”
David Rooney over at the The Hollywood Reporter, gave it a 60 grade,stating, “Audiences willing to tune in to its blend of surreal fantasy, droll comedy and poignancy will be rewarded.” Peter Debruge from Variety awarded it a 60 score. He stated, “Rather than channeling James Thurber’s satirical tone, Stiller plays it mostly earnest, spinning what feels like a feature-length “Just Do It” ad.”
Glenn Kenny from RogerEbert.com, gave it a 50 grade, stating, “Let me be frank: to use the words of the august founder of this website, I hated, hated, hated this movie.” Michael Phillips at the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 50 grade. He stated, “The film has a persistent and careful sheen. It looks good. It is, in fact, preoccupied with looking good. If this sounds like faint praise, I’m afraid it is.”
Ann Hornaday from the Washington Post, gave it a 50 score, stating, “The unevenness of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and Stiller’s recessive characterization of the title character, keep it from being an all-out crowd-pleaser.” A.O. Scott from the The New York Times, gave it another 50, stating, “Though it is a celebration of modesty, there is also quite a lot of vanity in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”
Richard Roeper over at the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it a 50. He said, ” This is an ambitious and sometimes effective but wildly uneven adventure that plays like one extended ego trip for Stiller. It feels like a movie by focus group, struggling to find a place between genuinely creative fantasy and audience-pleasing payoff moments.”
Claudia Puig from the USA Today crew, gave it a 50 score,stating, “By trying to combine fantasy and romance with goofy humor, globe-trotting adventure and feel-good inspiration, Stiller has made Mitty a mixed bag of clashing tones and facile redemption.”
Kyle Smith at the New York Post, gave it a pretty bad 38 score, stating, “The story of a guy who never goes anywhere or does anything. Until he goes everywhere and does everything, but he might as well have stayed home.” Lastly, Mick LaSalle at the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it an even worse 25 score, stating, “If, while watching The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, you start wondering why Ben Stiller is acting strange, the answer comes during the closing credits: “Directed by Ben Stiller.” Stay tuned. Also, get your Movie stuff, and more by Clicking Here.
