Flash of Genius 2008

Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies: There is depth, there is complexity, there is authenticity to this character. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: A doggedly workmanlike variation of an old story: the lone crusader doing battle with the big bad establishment. Read more

Reece Pendleton, Chicago Reader: Seriously undermined by the skeletal script, which barely develops the characters and unintentionally raises more questions about Kearns's quixotic battle than it answers. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: If only the movie were more than intermittently interesting. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: We might be talking about windshield wipers instead of industry pollution in Flash of Genius, but somehow justice seems more dear in this odd movie. Read more

Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com: If it doesn't rise to the level of It's a Wonderful Life, it's because Marc Abrams is no Frank Capra. And after all, this isn't about angels, it's about windshield wipers. Read more

Christy Lemire, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: There's a fine line between standing up for yourself and selfishness, and Flash of Genius drives right over it. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: Flash Of Genius has all the pleasures of an underdog film and none of the guilt of being pandered, patronized, and fed a feel-good moral. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Kinnear captures both the distracted-genius absentmindedness of a man inspired and the crumbling psyche of a man possessed. It's easily Kinnear's best performance in years, maybe ever. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: ...The problem with Flash of Genius isn't that the subject is dull but that the movie is. Read more

Mark Olsen, Chicago Tribune: ...It wants so desperately to be a Hollywood-style story of the little guy triumphing over the big guy that it races past much of the subtlety of Kearns' story... Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The film stumbles at times... but it's essentially solid storytelling. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: The product is concept, not execution, and the delivery techniques bear standard Hollywood patents. Read more

Robert Wilonsky, L.A. Weekly: The big-screen version of inventor Robert Kearns' legal battles with Ford and Chrysler... is about as exciting as Kearns' Wikipedia entry. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: This film rises slightly above convention thanks to Kinnear's strong performance as its not entirely likable hero. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Although it's competently made... Flash of Genius contains no spark of life at all. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: The flaws of Flash of Genius are worth putting up with for Kinnear's committed performance... Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Too much technical information about circuit boards, Motorola transistors and U.S. patent laws eventually takes up more screen time than Kearns' sympathetic story, leaving the viewer restless and bored. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: The film's sedate pace and ungainly structure... throw its biggest shortcoming into the spotlight. It lacks a clear villain. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Flash of Genius has its corn, its conflation, its composite characters. But Kinnear does what he's done in the past: You underestimate the guy's acting chops, and suddenly, strikingly, he floors you. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: We have seen this kind of tale before, and director Marc Abraham is unable to convince us that we want to see it again. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Flash of Genius tells this story in faithful and often moving detail. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: "Flash of Genius" isn't that good, but it's an enjoyable way to start the Oscar season. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A kamikaze flight of a movie that presents itself like a weighty Oscar contender. If there were a category for Best Unintentional Self-Parody, it would be a shoo-in. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: This is an inspirational melodrama derailed by the low stakes of the subject and the flaws of its hero. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: The notion that a car part holds all the beauty and inspiration of a great piece of art is what makes Flash of Genius so watchable. Read more

Hank Sartin, Time Out: Kinnear, a generally underappreciated actor, holds the picture together almost by force of will. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: While some scenes deliver, Flash of Genius suffers from an occasional lack of narrative tension. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: Very small potatoes in the cinematic annals of inspiring little-guy-fights-the-system melodramas, to the point that it's a wonder it was thought to be strong bigscreen material. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: In the end, Flash of Genius abandons its most interesting story line - Kearns v. Kearns - for a reliance on formula. Read more