Big Miracle (2012)

All Critics (99) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (72) | Rotten (25)

Ken Kwapis' 'Big MIracle': Defiantly old-fashioned, in a 1950s way, and impressively untrendy

February 9, 2012 Full Review

Joe Baltake

Passionate Moviegoer

Top Critic

By-the-book dialogue and lame performances do the film no favours but, hey, worse things happen at sea.

February 7, 2012 Full Review

Derek Adams

Time Out

Top Critic

There's something refreshing about a kids' movie that manages to get through its entire length without a poop joke.

February 3, 2012 Full Review | Comment (1)

Stephen Whitty

Newark Star-Ledger

Top Critic

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.

February 3, 2012 Full Review

Leah Rozen

The Wrap

Top Critic

"Big Miracle" might be subtitled, "How Hollywood Turned a Real Story Into Bogus Fiction."

February 3, 2012 Full Review | Comments (9)

Rafer Guzman

Newsday

Top Critic

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.

February 3, 2012 Full Review

Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

Top Critic

There are more subtle movies out there, but few more uplifting.

August 30, 2012 Full Review

James Luxford

The National

Big Miracle is invested with solid craftsmanship and a nuanced view of how idealism, pragmatism, and politics intersect.

August 17, 2012 Full Review

Mark Pfeiffer

Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

This is, well, huge.

August 15, 2012 Full Review

Linda Cook

Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Political cynicism, media opportunism, dogmatic native traditions, corporate greed and environmentalist stubbornness are each, in turn, dashed against this sunny confection.

March 23, 2012 Full Review

Roger Moore

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

funny, tear jerking, smart, and not a little subversive with a few well-place jabs at unexpectedly deserving parties as well as a few kudos in a few surprising places

February 20, 2012 Full Review

Andrea Chase

Killer Movie Reviews

Genial feelgood story inspired by a true story that made headlines in 1988.

February 20, 2012 Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Big Miracle, beyond its bland, nondescript title, delivers exactly what the coming attraction promised, an enjoyable save-the-whales" tale.

February 13, 2012 Full Review

Lori Hoffman

Atlantic City Weekly

The makers attempt to coat their fascinatingly bitter pill with saccharine. They are, however, only partially successful.

February 11, 2012 Full Review

Philip French

Observer [UK]

[S]urprisingly pleasant... Feel-good hokum is achieved with a minimum of groans induced thanks to director Ken Kwapis' light touch...

February 10, 2012 Full Review

MaryAnn Johanson

Flick Filosopher

Big Miracle has some decent special effects and a young boy will help it to feel more relevant to children.

February 10, 2012 Full Review

Graham Young

Birmingham Mail

Ponderously sincere but it does tell a good story.

February 10, 2012 Full Review

This is London

Krasinski and Barrymore are very likable characters with screen charisma. They seem at ease having previously worked with Kwapis. The movie's other chief strengths are the excellent casting choices, the cinematography and the lifelike animatronic puppets.

February 9, 2012 Full Review

Keith Cohen

Entertainment Spectrum

It is a laborious, sentimental drama featuring a self-parodic performance from Drew Barrymore, based on a TV news event that briefly gripped the US in 1988.

February 9, 2012 Full Review | Comments (4)

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian [UK]

Inspiring as any family-centric film can be, without being too insipid and manipulative.

February 9, 2012 Full Review

Lisa Giles-Keddie

Real.com

A grounding in the real-life story makes this film much less sentimental than it looks.

February 9, 2012 Full Review

Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

The whales are so appealing, and the fight to free them from their ice prison so excitingly feel-good, that all cynicism is put aside, making this very decent family entertainment.

February 9, 2012 Full Review

David Aldridge

Radio Times

Much better than the poster or trailer suggests.

February 9, 2012 Full Review

Martyn Conterio

Little White Lies

Well made and superbly acted by a strong ensemble cast, this is an enjoyable, warmly written drama that resists the temptation to overdose on sentimentality and delivers a strong message.

February 8, 2012 Full Review

Matthew Turner

ViewLondon

Gripping, funny and uplifting with some lively characters...

February 8, 2012 Full Review

Henry Fitzherbert

Daily Express

• 1. Rachel Kramer: Even though they're big and powerful, they're so much like us. We're vulnerable and we get scared. We need help sometimes too.
  – Submitted by Ahmad Fai R (16 months ago)
• 1. Malik: It's not my first rodeo either.
  – Submitted by Austin G (16 months ago)
• 1. Malik: Holy crap!
  2. Adam Carlson: Hey. We don't say that kind of- Holy crap!
  – Submitted by Austin G (16 months ago)
• 1. Roy: Are you Mexican? Only at work.
  – Submitted by Lee L (16 months ago)
• 1. Rachel Kramer: The Governor has basically turned his back on the whales.
  – Submitted by Chris P (17 months ago)
• 1. Rachel Kramer: There's always something you can do.
  – Submitted by Chris P (17 months ago)

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