The Sapphires Reviews
Slant Magazine
Wayne Blair isn't interested in historical complexity or subtext, just the seamless flow of Hollywood-style storytelling that lazily connects one musical number to the next.
Full Review
| Original Score: 1.5/4
Ultra Culture
Its treatment of Big Themes like racism, war and oppression, is shallow to the point of repulsion.
Top CriticThe Sapphires might pass muster as escapist fluff, but its pretensions of significance go woefully awry.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
Screen-Space
Though Blair's vision expands the action, the stage play origins are obvious in the films structure, which allows for a show-stopping tune at regular intervals whether the drama needs it or not.
Combustible Celluloid
Unfortunately, it has been turned into a routine and uninspiring movie, following a tired, old formula the entire way.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2.5/4
The List
Despite an undeniable shambolic charm, the result, while not exactly off-key, could've cleaned up its act before it went on the road.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
Let's trivialize a legacy of cruelty and denigration, in a country where indigenous people suffered from centuries of human rights abuse! And let's make the carnage of Vietnam look like a paintball game!
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
It's a sweet little tale, and that co-writer Tony Briggs is the son of one of the real-life singers adds to the heart-tugging. In the end, though, it's not quite enough to sustain a feature-length film.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/4
Financial Times
It's too naive, and most of the vocal dubbing is weirdly, distancingly poor.
Full Review
| Original Score: 2/5
Bloomberg News
Not even sweet soul music can turn Vietnam circa 1968 into a feel-good trip, but "The Sapphires" tries its darnedest.
Full Review
| Original Score: **1/2
Daily Star
It's the musical numbers and the mighty lungs of Australian Idol winner Jessica Mauboy that make this one of the feel-good movies of the year.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
We Got This Covered
Melodramatic and clichéd to a fault, The Sapphires is however elevated by winsome performances, particularly O'Dowd, and plentiful musically-driven charm.
Full Review
| Original Score: 7/10
Flix Capacitor
While predictable and fluffy, The Sapphires balances foot-tapping soul classics, acerbic Aussie insults and uncomplicated drama to crowd-pleasing effect.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/5
The Aristocrat
The Sapphires is a genuine crowd pleaser that is filled with great tunes, entertaining performances and heartfelt scenes.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
NECN
The most affable, innocuous outing ever set in a war zone.
Full Review
| Original Score: B-
HeyUGuys
The Sapphires has a lot of heart but an awful lot more soul!
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
Film School Rejects
A fully realized and layered story that delivers both humor and compassion, fantastic music that truly takes you back to that point in time, and an unforgettable performance from O'Dowd.
Full Review
| Original Score: A
2UE That Movie Show
There's a sense of vibrancy and hope burgeoning throughout as the quartet yearn to escape the shackles of their oppressive past at the hands of a racist White Australia. The Sapphires is a triumph.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/5
Irish Times
The Sapphires is certainly at home to corn, and the limited budget shows through at its tattered edges. But it should do wonders for those still suffering from Mamma Mia! withdrawals.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
The Popcorn Junkie
Like the music and the women it celebrates, The Sapphires has heart and soul and it's great to see the story finally shared on the big screen.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/5
