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The Boys in the Boat

The 100 Most Anticipated Movies of 2023

2023

George Clooney

Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner, Courtney Henggeler, Hadley Robinson ...

6.1

1,302

Drama The Boys in the Boat is a sports drama based on the #1 New York Times bestselling non-fiction novel written by Daniel James Brown. The film is about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team. This true story follows a group of underdogs at the height of the Great Depression as they are thrust into the spotlight and take on elite rivals from around the world.

	Media	Author	Review
		Michael O'Sullivan The Washington Post	"Handsome but familiar sports docudrama (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Owen Gleiberman Variety	"A gentleman’s sports movie, with Clooney working hard to make one 'like they used to'. He brings it off, even if there’s a lingering quaintness to it all. It’s easily the best movie he’s directed since 'The Ides of March'"
		Tim Robey Telegraph	"[It] is autopilot Clooney – a pleasant, coddling watch almost ruthlessly shorn of depth or subtext (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Nell Minow rogerebert.com	"When people say 'they don't make movies like that anymore', this is the kind of movie they're talking about (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"
		Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"This feels like an animatronic museum display (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Tim Grierson Screendaily	"[It] is heartfelt and smoothly executed, but this inspirational drama cannot outrace the filmmaker’s staid, undemanding approach, which turns even the most stirring moments into predictable plot points"
		Chase Hutchinson Collider	"George Clooney Should Stick To Acting (...) Those looking for a film worthy of this engaging true story will have to keep waiting"
		Ian Freer Time Out	"George Clooney’s predictable Olympics rowing drama has just enough old-school charm to scrape a bronze (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Moira MacDonald Seattle Times	"A sweet adaptation (...) It leaves you with an uncomplicated warmth that few films find these days. The rest of the story’s there in the pages of the book, just waiting for you (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Barry Hertz The Globe and Mail	"Nine films into his directorial career now, and it is clear that the guy only operates on two behind-the-scenes wavelengths: he’ll either frustrate or bore you to death. Either way, to watch “A George Clooney Film” is to accept a good, long nap"
		Nick Schager The Daily Beast	"[It] will delight fans of such inspirational films—and exasperate others"
		Dan Mecca The Film Stage	"This is a classical director, someone who clearly enjoys bringing the past to life. With 'The Boys in the Boat', he found the right book and the right actors in Turner and Edgerton"
		Alex Maidy JoBlo	"This story might have been something if there had been more stakes or investment in the individual rowers. As it stands, this is a mediocre movie parading around as Oscar bait"
		Tomris Laffly The Wrap	"George Clooney’s disarmingly old-school rowing movie gets it right"
		Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times	"Rowing movie drifts from one sports cliche to the next (...) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"
		Bilge Ebiri Vulture	"[It] probably could have done more on the characterization front (...) but in showing how a crew team must function to succeed, it’s genuinely engrossing"
		Kevin Maher The Times	"It’s time to ask the question, 'Is there any genre that George Clooney can’t direct … badly?' (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Rodrigo Perez The Playlist	"Conventional but still worthy of merit"
		Sheri Linden The Hollywood Reporter	"It’s no surprise when the story’s athletes accomplish their unlikely goal; it’s how the director leads us there that matters. In the case of 'The Boys in the Boat' (...) the surprises lie in small moments and grace notes"
		Mae Abdulbaki Screen Rant	"A Hollow, passive, emotionless sports biopic (...) 'The Boys in the Boat' turns an intriguing story into a snoozefest. The characters are devoid of depth and emotion, making it hard to become invested (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Manuel Betancourt AV Club	"It’s got everything (...) the period piece remains a rather inert proposition"
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"It's easy to admire George Clooney's dedication to making the kinds of movies that Hollywood doesn't make anymore —it's much harder to enjoy it"
		Pete Hammond Deadline	"A gorgeous adaptation (...) It is, to use a well worn cliché, a stand-up-and-cheer tale if ever there was one"
		Siddhant Adlakha Mashable	"Dull and disconnected. The motion of rowing can feel repetitive and mechanical, but to present it as such represents a failure of filmmaking imagination"
		Marshall Shaffer SlashFilm	"Try as it might for that additional political heft, this is ultimately just a standard-issue sports movie"

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