--- title: "Be Kind Rewind: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/be-kind-rewind/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/be-kind-rewind" critics_score: 66 critics_reviews: 18 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Be Kind Rewind (2008): what the critics said Critics' score 66 from 18 reviews: 10 positive, 4 mixed, 4 negative. Most critics like Be Kind Rewind, and they like it for the same thing: the homemade remakes at its centre. The sequences in which two friends re-shoot erased films on the cheap are called inventive, witty and touching almost across the board, and several reviews treat them as the point of the whole film. Gondry’s visual ingenuity gets the credit, along with Jack Black’s energy, and many read the film as a warm argument for community and do-it-yourself filmmaking against Hollywood polish. The reservations cluster on everything around those sequences. The plot is called perfunctory and loose, the sentiment laid on thick, and several critics say the film never delivers on its own premise. The spread is wide: Time Out gives full marks, while The New Yorker and The Independent find the charm undisciplined and the neighbourhood’s acclaim for the remakes hard to believe. The Guardian, otherwise amused, is troubled by how the remakes handle race. ## Time Out — David Jenkins Rating 5/5. 18 February 2008. The critic praises Gondry's playful and accessible follow-up as his most sparkling work yet, following two friends who remake erased VHS tapes in a rundown New Jersey store. Visual ingenuity and a heartfelt communal finale celebrating cinema's restorative power are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/be-kind-rewind) ## The AV Club — Keith Phipps Rating B+. 22 February 2008. The review finds the film thoughtful and light-handed in exploring who controls popular culture, praising its visual wit, game performances and overflowing humanity. It notes that Gondry is not a skilled storyteller and the script frays into loose strands. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/be-kind-rewind-1798203807) ## The Hollywood Reporter Fi1m's normalised score 81/100 (inferred from the text). 20 January 2008. Festival review. The critic calls the film an exuberant, fanciful fable about the interplay among films, their audience and their makers. It praises Jack Black's irrepressible energy as key to carrying the whimsical, cornball conceit of neighborhood "sweding" of popular movies. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/be-kind-rewind-125523/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 January 2008. Festival review. The review hails the jaunty, visually inventive fantasia as wondrous and dazzlingly executed, a celebration of art, personality and the communal power of movies through eccentric remakes. It notes the premise's rebuke to Hollywood homogeneity but finds it falls short of the emotional intensity of Gondry's Eternal Sunshine. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/be-kind-rewind/4036710.article) ## The New York Times — A. O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 28 February 2008. Scott praises the film's sweet, lackadaisical illumination of movie love and the pleasures of DIY creativity through amateur remakes. He highlights Gondry's skilled yet delightfully amateurish techniques and the easy, antic good humor that avoids intense conflict or feeling. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/arts/28iht-22rewi.10527398.html) ## Financial Times Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 20 February 2008. The film is 100 minutes of sweet-natured idiocy that meshes Clerks-style slacker energy with a countdown of movie remakes, full of whimsical charm and inventive low-budget recreations that catch on locally. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/a5355526-dfd7-11dc-8073-0000779fd2ac) ## The Times — Edward Porter Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 24 February 2008. The plot is perfunctory but the amateur-movie shoots are wonderful, mixing silliness, sweetness and wit, with great inventiveness from writer-director Michel Gondry. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/be-kind-rewind-the-sunday-times-review-q2qm7jqj78k) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 22 February 2008. The critic finds the film funny and entertaining with some laughs and a subversive homemade aesthetic that narrows the gap between Hollywood producers and consumers, but notes baffling flaws especially around handling of racial themes in remakes like Driving Miss Daisy. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/22/comedy) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 4 May 2006. The review notes enough whimsical humour to sustain the film but criticises its self-indulgent moments and uneven execution, while praising the standout parody sequences and underlying heart. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/kind-rewind-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Carina Chocano Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 22 February 2008. Chocano calls the movie sweet-natured and likable but says it never fully delivers on its ingenious premise of subversive remakes, stopping at goofy homage. She praises the delightfully inventive montage sequences and Gondry's nostalgic defense of the little guy and individual voice while noting it lacks the emotional pull of his prior films. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-feb-22-et-rewind22-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 21 February 2008. Ebert finds the film whimsically amusing but not particularly funny or strongly recommendable, suggesting it is the kind of movie better suited to later DVD viewing. He notes the inventive but unskillful re-enactments of classics and Jack Black's manic energy while observing a lack of paroxysms of laughter or deep engagement. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/be-kind-rewind-2008) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 22 February 2008. The critic finds Michel Gondry’s whimsical comedy about two friends remaking erased videotapes overly sentimental and implausible, with its central conceit of neighbourhood acclaim for the ramshackle remakes failing to convince. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/be-kind-rewind-12a-785203.html) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 17 February 2008. Lane argues that the charming conceit of the film proves charm is not enough, resulting in a silly and undisciplined work where Gondry rejects common sense. He singles out the missed opportunity to craft a professional fable about amateurs and the lack of direction for the cast. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/02/25/beamed-down) ## Digital Spy — Alex Fletcher Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 February 2008. The critic praises Gondry's quirky comedy for its inventive humor and community themes. Jack Black and Mos Def deliver standout performances in the remakes. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a89631/be-kind-rewind/) ## Eye for Film — Anton Bitel Rating 3.5/5. 16 February 2008. The critic praises Gondry's quirky, lo-fi take on community values and DIY filmmaking that pits local inventiveness against globalised culture. The film is celebrated for its heart, humour, and nostalgic charm despite flirting with cliché. [Read the review](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/be-kind-rewind-film-review-by-anton-bitel) ## Paste — Robert Davis Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 18 February 2008. The critic finds the film a thin, slow comedy that stumbles into a touching ode to community and do-it-yourself filmmaking despite its ridiculous premise and lack of visual flair. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/michel-gondry/be-kind-rewind) ## The Playlist — Rodrigo Perez Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 21 February 2008. The review calls the film incredibly silly and flawed yet a charming paean to the DIY spirit, community, and love of movies. It notes that Gondry's imagination sometimes veers into nonsensical territory but ultimately delivers an endearing, heartfelt underdog story. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/be-kind-rewind-incredibly-silly-heavily-20080221/) ## Den of Geek — Simon Brew Rating 2/5. 24 June 2008. The critic finds the film squanders a promising premise about remaking erased videos. The 'sweding' scenes start strong but give way to a clumsy plot. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/be-kind-rewind-blu-ray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/be-kind-rewind.md