Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘The Natural’?

The Natural (1984)

tomatometer

82

Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 33
Fresh: 27 | Rotten: 6

Though heavy with sentiment, The Natural is an irresistible classic, and a sincere testament to America's national pastime.

50

Average Rating: 5.8/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 3

Though heavy with sentiment, The Natural is an irresistible classic, and a sincere testament to America's national pastime.

audience

86

liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 35,631

My Rating

Movie Info

The film version of The Natural pulls off the neat trick of conveying the spirit of the Bernard Malamud novel upon which it is based, even while changing both the outcome and the meaning of Malamud's closing chapters. In his first film appearance in four years, Robert Redford plays Roy Hobbs, a farm boy with a hankering to be a great baseball player. With his faithful homemade bat "Wonderboy" in hand, Roy heads to the big city. En route, he arouses the fascination of the mysterious Harriet Bird

PG, 2 hr. 12 min.

Drama

Apr 3, 2001

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Cast

All Critics (33) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (31) | Rotten (6) | DVD (21)

Levinson must have felt he had to swing for the fences. He can be forgiven for choking up with all The Natural's fans looking on dubiously. In fairness, the official scorer must credit him with a single. And Redford with an RBI.

March 21, 2011 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Natural is an impeccably made, but quite strange, fable about success and failure in America.

March 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

I've just about had it with directors who use the mythic mode as an alibi for unshaded characterizations, simpleminded plotting, and swells of artificial emotionality.

March 21, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The message is: Baseball is purely and simply a matter of divine intervention. At about the 130-minute mark, I got the idea that God's only begotten son was playing right field for the New York team.

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment (1)
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Though entertaining in short stretches, The Natural has no recognizable character of its own.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment (1)
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Arguably the best baseball movie ever made.

May 9, 2002 Full Review Source: ReelViews | Comment
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Barry Levinson deviates considerably from the wry, ironic tone of Malamud's novel, and if the film is mildly enjoyable it's due to the acting of the supporting cast and polished production values.

August 20, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

An otherwise fine sports fantasy is dragged down by an overindulgence in sentimentality.

March 25, 2011 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment (1)
Empire Magazine

...silly, repetitive, episodic, mannered...

July 13, 2010 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | Comment
Film Freak Central

unabashedly sentimental and grand in its themes of goodness, honor, tenacity, and forgiveness

April 14, 2010 Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | Comment
Q Network Film Desk

The diamond of the package is a 43-minute documentary which has Cal Ripken, Jr. talking about his love of the game of baseball and how he connected with the film.

February 2, 2009 Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | Comment

No popped-up fly doubles. Just wham, bam, home run. Get the picture?

August 1, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

Robert Redford isn't playing a 1930s baseball hero ... he's playing an instrument of God.

June 9, 2008 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | Comment
LarsenOnFilm

This cut of The Natural is definitive. It's more fully realized and makes more sense than what we saw in the theaters. Now, Roy Hobbs is darker and more troubled by a past that helps better prepare viewers for events to come.

July 25, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Somewhat overly sentimental, lacking the novel's subtlety, and less interesting when the action leaves the ball park, Barry Levinson's beautifully shot film is nonetheless a charming fairy tale.

March 21, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Jammed full with cliches, The Natural never misses a chance to manipulate the audience

March 18, 2007 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | Comment
Filmcritic.com

Let yourself go and be rewarded by the sight of a hero running home to victory through clouds of fire.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

A mature and elegiac fantasy done with feeling and sincerity that really captures the mystique of old-time baseball.

September 27, 2005 Full Review Source: FulvueDrive-in.com | Comment
FulvueDrive-in.com

The most sentimental movie you needn't be ashamed to love.

July 14, 2004 Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Natural

He lived for a dream that wouldn't die.Saw it again! Probably one of the best baseball movies ever made. Robert Redford nail his role as Roy Hobbs, amazing talent! Wicked story! Everything about this movie appears authentic. From the time period, to the baseball scenes. These guys really look like a baseball team. A

April 16, 2008
xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
Manu Gino

Super Reviewer

I won't call The Natural a bad movie but that doesn't mean I'm going to say that it lives up to its almost mythic status as a truly great movie. Robert Redford is likable and despite some weird aspects of the story (Barbara Hershey and Kim Basinger's bad luck superpower in general) you like him and you root for him.

December 24, 2006
mjgildea

Super Reviewer

The Natural Quotes

No quotes approved yet for The Natural. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Movies Like The Natural

Latest News for The Natural

August 8, 2008:
Play Ball With RT's Top Sports Movies!
It's a busy time in the sports universe: the Olympics are underway, baseball's pennant races are...

February 28, 2006:
Three Great Character Actors Gone in One Sad Weekend
The traditional logic that says "famous people always die in threes" was backed up with a...

What's Hot On RT

Critics Consensus
Critics Consensus

Journey 2 Not Worth the Trip

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,558 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,414 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,142 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,646 taken
created 15 months ago
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile