The reviews lean towards a mixed response to Little Big Man, with praise for its ambition and performances rather than agreement that its approach works throughout. The favourable accounts find an entertaining, sly tragicomedy that challenges Western myths through Jack Crabb’s perspective. Acting draws the clearest praise: Dustin Hoffman is a strength, while Chief Dan George earns particular appreciation for his dignity and philosophical contributions.
Reservations concern pacing, caricature and the fit between broad comedy and historical suffering. Some encounters drag even for admirers, and Variety sees promise in the mixture of burlesque and serious sketches without offering an enthusiastic endorsement. The New Yorker supplies the sharpest dissent, arguing that the move towards solemn political messaging weakens both the humour and the film’s larger ambitions. The spread is wide, though two inaccessible review texts limit how fully the reasons behind the scores can be compared.