--- title: "Green Book: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/green-book/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/green-book" critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 14 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." --- # Green Book (2018): what the critics said Critics' score 68 from 14 reviews: 6 positive, 7 mixed, 1 negative. The reviews lean towards qualified approval, with praise clustering around Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali rather than the story they are given. Most critics find their rapport, comic timing and contrasting performances engaging enough to carry a familiar account of unlikely friendship. The warmer notices see the banter and gradual changes between the two men as persuasive, while even several sceptical reviews credit the actors with making predictable material watchable. The divide is over how the film handles racism, and the responses range from enthusiastic approval to outright rejection. Reservations centre on sentimentality, racial clichés and the emphasis on the white driver’s perspective, with several critics finding that the reassuring tone simplifies the history. Slant Magazine argues that the comedy preserves the social context of discrimination; The Guardian finds the approach naive and ill-judged, while making an exception for Ali’s dignity and complexity. ## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf Rating 4/5. 22 January 2019. The critic praises the masterful lead performances and the film's rousing take on social change through banter and quiet transformations, while noting its sentimental and calculated elements. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/green-book) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 19 November 2018. The critic notes that the film spoon-feeds its story of an unlikely friendship but goes down easy in a divisive political climate, appreciating the banter between the leads more than the plotting. It contrasts favorably with more confrontational recent films about racism for mainstream audiences. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/green-book-spoon-feeds-you-but-it-goes-down-easy.html) ## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd Rating C+. 16 November 2018. The critic calls the film a damnably nice middlebrow race dramedy that flatters audiences by treating racism as a past-tense problem through its mismatched-buddy road trip. It features strong turns from Mortensen and Ali but lacks deeper nuance in its portrayal of cultural clashes. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/with-green-book-a-farrelly-brother-is-here-to-make-you-1830488675) ## Film Comment — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 2018. The film is a well-meaning but old-fashioned and sugar-coated comedy-drama about race relations that feels like a benign dinosaur compared to sharper contemporaries. It benefits from strong performances by Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali but ultimately simplifies its themes around class and culture more than race. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/film-week-green-book/) ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Rating 3/3/3. 30 January 2019. The review calls it a crowd-pleasing buddy comedy with good intentions that subverts some stereotypes while reinforcing others, highlighting the superb performances of Ali and Mortensen. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/green-book) ## Radio Times Rating ★★★. 28 January 2019. Mortensen and Ali form an irresistible duo in this well-meaning but slightly misjudged biopic that lacks grit and anger in its portrayal of race relations, though it offers awards-friendly polish. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/green-book-review-mortensen-and-ali-are-an-irresistible-duo-in-a-biopic-boasting-awards-friendly-polish/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 12 September 2018. Festival review. The film is predictable and conventional but benefits from the easy rapport between Mortensen and Ali and Farrelly's humanism; it is the sort of crowd-pleaser that hits expected beats about change and friendship. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/green-book-toronto-review/5132594.article) ## Empire — John Nugent 28 January 2019. It is a supremely likeable, crowd-pleasing film with a warm heart and two astoundingly good lead performances. The chemistry between Mortensen and Ali is highlighted as what makes it compelling despite familiar tropes. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/green-book-review/) ## Evening Standard — Matthew Norman 1 February 2019. It is a flawed but oddly joyful movie elevated far above its limitations by two sublime performances. The acting of Mortensen and Ali is praised for steering it expertly between sweet and saccharine despite unoriginality and naive optimism. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/green-book-review-a-flawed-film-elevated-by-two-sublime-actors-a4055031.html) ## Los Angeles Times 15 November 2018. The review highlights the strong chemistry between Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in this crowd-pleasing tale of an unlikely friendship, comparing it to The Odd Couple meets a modern Driving Miss Daisy. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-green-book-review-20181115-story.html) ## Sight and Sound — Nick Pinkerton 25 February 2019. The critic finds the film one-sided and awards-baiting but praises its handling of working-class white ethnic comedy and the lead performances, particularly Mortensen's physical transformation and the duo's chemistry. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/green-book-review-little-hoax-that-could) ## Slant Magazine 16 September 2018. Festival review. The critic praises Farrelly for respecting the social context of discrimination while keeping the focus on the protagonists' relationship, turning thorny subject matter into a feel-good comedy without sanitizing it. The film draws on odd-couple dynamics similar to Planes, Trains and Automobiles. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/green-book/) ## The Guardian 3 February 2019. The film is at best naive and at worst jaw-droppingly ill-judged in its approach to race, with tone-deaf scenes that undermine its ambitions. Mahershala Ali’s superb performance as Don Shirley redeems it to some extent through its complexity and dignity. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/feb/03/green-book-review-peter-farrelly-viggo-mortensen-mahershala-ali) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy 11 September 2018. Festival review. The critic describes the film as a lively and likable diversion featuring distinctive performances by Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in an odd-couple story set in the Jim Crow South. It offers a middle-of-the-road liberal approach to racial issues that could have been told anytime since the 1960s. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/green-book-review-1142433/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody 16 November 2018. The critic calls the film a bland, regressive Oscar-bait flip on Driving Miss Daisy that effaces cultural differences in favor of color-blind platitudes while offering a calculatedly heartwarming view of racism. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/green-book-reviewed-peter-farrellys-bland-regressive-flip-on-driving-miss-daisy) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott 15 November 2018. The critic finds the film laden with predictable racial clichés and a white-savior narrative but praises the lead performances by Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali for making the story watchable. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/movies/green-book-review.html) ## Total Film 28 January 2019. The critic finds it a deftly disarming film about friendship and unity in divisive times. The note-perfect lead pairing of Mortensen and Ali is singled out for praise as it steers the film through any sentimentality. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/green-book-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Amanda Keats Rating 5/5. 15 October 2018. Festival review. The review calls it moving, poignant, funny, and delightful, praising its story of belonging and the performances of Ali and Mortensen in a trip that is upsetting yet smile-inducing. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/green-book-review/) ## Collider — Jeff Sneider Rating A. 21 September 2018. Festival review. The critic describes the film as a moving and charming crowdpleaser about race relations that works as a family-friendly Thanksgiving release. Farrelly's direction and the two lead performances are singled out as major strengths. [Read the review](https://collider.com/green-book-review/) ## Film Stories — Dan Cooper Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 February 2019. The critic praises the film's deft handling of its odd-couple road movie material, creating an innately human story that avoids sentimentality, highlighting strong performances by Mortensen and Ali and effective scenes like the fried chicken one. They note it earns its conclusion through talent, script, and direction, making it one of the year's most sublime films. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/green-book-review/) ## The Wrap — Steve Pond Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2018. Festival review. The critic finds the film a charming, crowd-pleasing mainstream story of an unlikely friendship on a 1962 road trip through the segregated South. Mortensen's flamboyant, oversized performance as the gruff driver is singled out for particular praise alongside Ali's grounded work. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/green-book-film-review-viggo-mortensen-mahershala-ali-deep-south/) ## Consequence Rating C+. 20 November 2018. The review calls the film an earnest but clichéd and misguided year-end dramedy about race that relies on stereotypes. It gets by on the strength of its leads and occasional humor but remains uneven overall. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2018/11/film-review-green-book/) ## Den of Geek — Rosie Fletcher Rating 3/5. 1 February 2019. Green Book is a predictable, schmaltzy but warm and enjoyable bromance about an unlikely friendship that lifts itself through the two lead performances. It focuses too much on the white driver's arc, sidesteps deeper issues and controversies, and offers feel-good clichés without much substance to chew on. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/green-book-review-2/) ## The Ringer — Jourdain Searles Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 27 November 2018. The critic finds the film a simplistic and overly sentimental take on race relations that functions like a Hallmark movie with an inflated budget. It fails to create genuine common ground between characters or deliver meaningful commentary. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2018/11/27/movies/green-book-race-viggo-mortensen-mahershala-ali-peter-farrelly) --- © 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/green-book.md