--- title: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button" critics_score: 66 critics_reviews: 15 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." --- # The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008): what the critics said Critics' score 66 from 15 reviews: 10 positive, 2 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics come down in favour, though few are warm about it. The praise gathers around David Fincher’s direction and the technical work: the effects and make-up that carry Brad Pitt backwards through the ages are singled out almost everywhere, and several reviews note that they serve the story rather than show off. Pitt’s performance is admired, Tilda Swinton’s supporting turn is mentioned more than once, and many are relieved that a premise begging for sentiment is handled with restraint. The reservations are about temperature. Even the admirers find the film cool and remote, with a passive hero who watches life rather than lives it; the comparison to Forrest Gump recurs, and rarely as a compliment. Eric Roth’s script and the running time draw complaints too. The spread is wide. The Guardian and NME dismiss it as twee and tedious, Screen Daily thinks it never coheres as the tragedy it wants to be, and Den of Geek asks whether the mauling is deserved. ## Empire — Ian Freer Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). Fincher delivers a cool, non-mawkish love story that avoids easy sentiment while capturing the melancholy of time as the nemesis of love. The critic singles out the film's grace notes, technical effects, and emotional depth as making it a film for the ages. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/curious-case-benjamin-button-review/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Kirk Honeycutt Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 November 2008. The critic finds the film a superbly made epic that transforms Fitzgerald’s gimmick into a contemplative tale of life, death, and love. Fincher’s assured direction and Pitt’s touching performance stand out. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/curious-case-benjamin-button-review-2008-movie-125119/) ## Time Out — Tom Huddleston Rating 4/5. 3 February 2009. The film works only sporadically as an epic melancholic romance thanks to Fincher’s storytelling skill and visual spectacle, despite hokey scripting from Eric Roth. It is praised for transcending its flaws through craft and standout performances, especially Tilda Swinton’s poignant turn. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button) ## Slant Magazine — Nick Schager Rating 3/4. 20 December 2008. The critic notes Fincher’s measured approach prevents the material from becoming mawkish and creates a reserved portrait of love, though the script occasionally falters. Technical deftness and visual framing are singled out for praise amid mixed feelings about emotional distance. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 February 2009. The critic praises Fincher's visual bravura and narrative gusto in adapting the reverse-aging premise into a poetic, virtuoso feat that is eloquent and rapturous. The film is seen as extravagant with imperfections but ultimately a serious, sober Hollywood exploration of death and mortality. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-david-fincher-165-mins-12a-1603710.html) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 24 December 2008. Fincher and screenwriter Eric Roth have turned Fitzgerald’s slight fantasy into a lush romantic film that investigates the philosophical paradoxes of its protagonist’s condition in a spirit owing more to Borges. The puzzles about time, experience and love are deep and imposing, explored in consistently interesting if not always dramatically satisfying ways. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/movies/25butt.html) ## Total Film — Jamie Graham Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 3 February 2009. Fincher's film is a bold, brilliant fable of rare scope that mixes heart and mind, with magic moments and grand sequences, though it can feel cold and the passive protagonist limits emotional connection. The effects are seamlessly buried in the storytelling. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-review/) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 2008. Benjamin Button represents a richly satisfying serving of deep-dish Hollywood storytelling presented in an impeccable classical manner with advanced technology entirely at the service of story and character. It is absorbing, even moving, but emotionally cool, accessible and distinctive enough to catch on with strong critical support. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2008/film/awards/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-5-1200472066/) ## Los Angeles Times — Patrick Goldstein Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 25 November 2008. The film offers impressive bravura filmmaking from start to finish but feels somewhat remote, with a passive hero who is largely an observer like a melancholy Forrest Gump. It will be endlessly debated for its craft and effects, yet the prevailing mood is one of melancholy suited to Fincher’s gifts. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/the-big-picture/story/2008-11-25/benjamin-button-finchers-triumph-or-folly) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 24 November 2008. Festival review. The wildly ambitious fantasy contains intriguing elements and superb production values but ultimately fails to cohere as the epic tragedy it aims to be. Fincher’s imagination and the effects are singled out for praise, while the length and lack of emotional engagement are noted as drawbacks. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/4042066.article) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Rating 1/5. 6 February 2009. The critic finds the film twee, pointless and overly long, a sentimental shaggy-dog story relying on CGI and prosthetics with little emotional or intellectual substance. The adaptation of Fitzgerald's minor tale is compared unfavourably to Forrest Gump and The Notebook. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/06/benjamin-button-brad-pitt-cate-blanchett) ## Collider — Brian Orndorf Rating A. 23 December 2008. The critic praises David Fincher's shift toward a more emotional and romantic filmmaking style, calling the film perhaps his finest achievement. They highlight the director's visual mastery, the seamless effects and makeup, and the cast's performances in exploring themes of time, life, and fleeting love without descending into sentimentality. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-movie-review/) ## /Film — David Chen Rating 8.5/10. 27 December 2008. The film is a beautiful and moving work that confronts notions of fate and chance, though it does not fully succeed in answering its central questions about living life backwards. The critic singles out the remarkable special effects for praise as a convincing achievement in transforming one actor across ages. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/501872/movie-review-the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/) ## Den of Geek — Gemma Reilly Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 11 February 2009. The critic questions whether the film deserves the critical mauling it received, praising its brilliant premise, visual effects, production design and supporting performances while noting flaws in the loose adaptation, overly long runtime and detached direction that prevents it from being truly moving. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-review/) ## NME — NME Blog Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 18 February 2009. The piece criticizes the film as tedious and boring, with no real story, clunky script, jarring editing and self-important tone that fails to live up to its hype or the source material, though it acknowledges strong special effects and some enjoyable sequences. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/the-tedious-case-of-benjamin-button-42742) --- © 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/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button.md