Big Miracle 2012

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: There may not be a second of say, Whale Rider's lyricism (that's still the best whale movie out there), but this energetic family movie is less insipid than it looks. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: Like a whale itself, "Big Miracle" is large and unwieldy -- but it also has its moments of splendor. Read more

Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: If you think it's absolutely not your kind of thing, you might be surprised. Read more

New York Times: Read more

Rachel Saltz, New York Times: "Big Miracle" gets off to a shaky start, but once revved up, it becomes an involving work-against-the-clock-and-the-odds action movie. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Given the abundance of one-dimensional human portrayals, it becomes apparent that a documentary on the subject might have been more powerful. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: It's amazing a movie hasn't been made about these Reagan-era events before now. But the enjoyable "Big Miracle" offers perspective, balancing sentiment with healthy skepticism about human motivations. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Far better and far more adult than it really has any right to be. Read more

Janice Page, Boston Globe: It needs only to entertain. And that it does thoroughly, leaving us both charmed and enriched without feeling very preached at. Praise be. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "Big Miracle" tells its sort-of-true version of events in a democratic and humane fashion, by way of a rangy, lively group of competing interests who actually do on occasion act like real people. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Read more

Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The movie balances its sentimental side with a healthy dose of cynicism. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: "Big Miracle" might be subtitled, "How Hollywood Turned a Real Story Into Bogus Fiction." Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: There's something refreshing about a kids' movie that manages to get through its entire length without a poop joke. Read more

Ella Taylor, NPR: The longer Big Miracle goes on, the more it settles for an amiable communitarianism chased down by a PG group-hug finale. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The genuinely sweet nature of this sometimes clunky movie is mixed with a little sass, and wins you over. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: "Big Miracle" shouldn't really work, but it does. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Instead of this being a story of a bunch of lovely people doing a lovely thing, it's rather the story of average people who become much better people as a result of doing a lovely thing, even though some start out doing it for less than noble reasons. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: With such a large and likable cast, the whales are a relatively small part of the movie. But the wonder of "Big Miracle" is that their fate can make a cold-hearted audience blubber. Read more

Nell Minow, Chicago Sun-Times: Keeps the film from getting too cluttered by with performances that give us an instant connection to the humans literally trying to save the whales. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Big Miracle is not one of those whale tales that leaves the audience blubbering, but it's open to the allure of the imposing creatures, which resemble long boulders that have come to life. Read more

Leah Rozen, TheWrap: If you're looking for a passable film to take the kids to this weekend, Miracle offers a smart enough take on its feel-good plot to keep adult viewers tuned in. Read more

Derek Adams, Time Out: By-the-book dialogue and lame performances do the film no favours but, hey, worse things happen at sea. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: It is a whale of a comic tale, if also one overly crowded with characters and incidents. Read more

Melissa Anderson, Village Voice: While rooting for the marine mammals (and wishing for more footage of them-and even of their animatronic incarnations), your heart will also go out to the cast, stuck even more pitiably in syrupy manufactured crises. Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: Cold War-era bonding over whales? It would sound utterly absurd if it weren't based on fact. And that's part of what makes this movie fun for adults. Read more