The critic views it as a conceptually intriguing but ultimately contrived folly that fails to land emotionally despite Zemeckis's ambition. It singles out the heavy-handed sentimentality and uncanny valley effects for complaint.
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Here (2024)
22 reviews from 22 publications. Critics’ score 42: 2 positive, 5 mixed, 6 negative.
The critic views the film as an ambitious but undercooked experiment in non-linear storytelling that becomes simplistic and caged by clichés, lacking the source material's elegance or irony.
Read the full review →The critic finds the film's fixed-camera, time-portal conceit compelling and technically dazzling but deems the story thin and solipsistic, with history reduced to set dressing around an ordinary hero's personal life.
Read the full review →The critic deems it a mawkish high-concept misfire that flattens drama through fragmented editing and broad-stroke presentation, feeling fake and over-manicured.
Read the full review →The review condemns the film as a disastrous, garish tomb and an insult to being alive, criticizing the forced main characters, crude handling of history, cringey de-ageing, and gooey schmaltz that turns the fixed-camera concept into purgatory.
Read the full review →The critic calls it the biggest pile of schmaltz of the year, with the fixed-point gimmick in service of sentimental nostalgia that fails to develop characters meaningfully.
Read the full review →The critic describes it as an extraordinary mess and pointless film like watching the Sims get dementia, with every decision cataclysmic, absurd de-ageing, banal stories, and a saccharine intent undermined by cruelty and emptiness.
Read the full review →The critic finds the film a deeply flawed, tech-forward endeavour with an uncinematic static-camera conceit and thuddingly obvious dialogue that prompts laughter. Glimmers of human emotion and poignancy emerge in the final act from the lead performances, especially Robin Wright.
Read the full review →The critic sees it as an earnest Forrest Gump reunion experiment spanning lifetimes from one spot, rueing time lost and gained while noting the de-aging and fixed perspective.
Read the full review →The critic finds the fixed-camera intergenerational drama to be a pointless, treacly exercise that flattens its Forrest Gump reunion into faux-cosmic tedium with little emotional depth. The stationary vantage point and time-jumping narrative are highlighted as the central gimmick that fails to deliver insight or resonance.
Read the full review →The critic sees the film as a heavy-handed Forrest Gump reunion that lands with deadening thuds despite its ambitions on time and history. It singles out the de-aging effects and overly premeditated formal conceits for complaint while noting the score and lead performances as occasional highlights.
Read the full review →The critic finds lyrical moments undermined by Zemeckis’s lack of restraint and questionable narrative choices in this ambitious study of lives across time. It singles out the fixed-camera perspective over a century for its potential but notes the execution undoes the moving intent.
Read the full review →The critic finds the film a gimmicky, overly sentimental and effects-heavy experiment that prioritizes digital fakery over genuine emotion. It singles out the uncanny de-aging of Hanks and Wright and the treacly coda for complaint while noting the fixed-camera conceit from the graphic novel source.
Read the full review →The critic calls the film an eerie and embarrassing misfire, an ugly de-aged nightmare that is unforgivably dull as it follows the same house through time with banal snippets of history and lifeless sentimentality.
Read the full review →The critic finds the fixed-camera experiment technically mesmerizing at first but ultimately inert, with a banal story and underdeveloped characters that prioritize visual gimmicks over emotional depth.
Read the full review →The critic views the film as an experimental but ultimately regret-filled collage spanning billions of years from a fixed camera position, focusing on one family's disappointments rather than triumphs. The static lens and epic scope are singled out as the core formal experiment, though the narrative emphasizes duty and missed opportunities over adventure.
Read the full review →The critic finds it a noble experiment and a welcome dose of originality, though it doesn’t quite work on every level. He singles out the emotional pull by the end, the performances of Hanks and Wright, and the innovative use of panels with a fixed camera.
Read the full review →The critic praises Zemeckis for using the fixed perspective and time-spanning narrative to deliver a thesis on his career and explore experimental territory. It is seen as a high-ambition mainstream experiment on the passage of time, regrets, and perseverance despite technical hurdles.
Read the full review →The film is an ambitious but messy experiment that occasionally delivers heartfelt moments about family and time passing, yet feels more like an interesting gimmick than a fully realized story. The critic praises the scope and the performances of Hanks, Wright, and Bettany in the central family arc while criticizing the sprawling narrative, on-the-nose moments, and distracting secondary stories.
Read the full review →The critic views the film as an interesting experiment gone wrong. The fixed-camera concept and Forrest Gump reunion are undermined by distracting de-aging, artificial staging, and an overly bleak tone that smothers any warmth.
Read the full review →The critic calls the film a flawed but bold departure that experiments with a fixed camera and time-hopping in ways most movies avoid. The execution distances viewers from the drama through short vignettes, digital effects, and de-aging that create an uncanny valley feel.
Read the full review →The critic calls it a mawkish intergenerational drama that amounts to little more than a high-tech museum diorama. He singles out the underwhelming visual effects outside the main storyline, the shallow narrative, and the limited innovation in the panel technique despite the ambitious concept.
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