--- title: "The Post: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-post/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-post" critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 23 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 Post (2017): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 23 reviews: 19 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative. ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 December 2017. The critic calls it propulsive major studio cinema made with real-world purpose that succeeds across the board, showcasing the value of newspapers holding government accountable. He singles out Streep's performance as the professional coming of age of Katharine Graham for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-the-post-review-20171221-story.html) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2017. The critic calls it a vigorous, stirring true-life thriller that dramatizes the Washington Post's role in publishing the Pentagon Papers. Spielberg's brisk direction and the lead performances by Streep and Hanks are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/post-review-1062153/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 December 2017. The review describes the film as a perfectly timed, crackling newspaper movie that serves as a Meryl Streep showcase. It praises Streep's understated performance as Katharine Graham and Spielberg's focus on the procedural elements of journalism. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2017/12/the-post-is-a-perfectly-timed-crackling-newspaper-movie.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2017. Festival review. The film is a crackling entertainment made with precision and political purpose that brings intelligence and electricity to its study of journalism, guided by urgent performances from Streep and Hanks. It singles out the contemporary relevance and Streep's least-fussy performance charting Graham's journey for praise. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-post-review/5124335.article) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 January 2018. The critic praises Spielberg's ability to make a newspaper drama thrilling despite its office-bound setting and compares it favorably to Spotlight as an equal in recent newspaper movies. They single out the cinematic treatment of the printing process and the strong performances by Streep and Hanks. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-post-review-tickets-watch-steven-spielberg-trailer-meryl-streep-tom-hanks-a8163456.html) ## Empire — Jonathan Pile Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2017. The critic finds the film first-class on its own merits thanks to compelling leads and masterful direction, though it lacks the thrill of All the President's Men or the emotional heft of Spotlight. They highlight the prescient themes and strong acting by Streep and Hanks. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/post-review/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2017. Spielberg's handsome, rousingly watchable drama celebrates liberal decency through the Washington Post's fight to publish the Pentagon Papers. The critic singles out the excellent, relatable performances from Streep and Hanks along with the film's evocative 1970s period detail. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/06/the-post-review-steven-spielberg-tom-hanks-meryl-streep-washington-post) ## Evening Standard — Matthew Norman Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2018. The critic views the film as an engaging superhero-style tale of media heroism against a bullying president, with Streep's performance as the standout element showing Graham's growth. They note some limitations in its contemporary resonance but call it highly watchable overall. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-post-review-it-echoes-present-day-tension-between-the-media-and-the-white-house-a3744211.html) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 21 December 2017. The critic describes it as a solidly rousing act of historical re-creation focused on the Pentagon Papers and the Post's decision to publish. He notes the film is a little too confident of its righteous stand but praises how Streep beautifully manages the battle between hesitation and decisiveness. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-post) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2017. The critic finds it a bustlingly entertaining and timely docudrama about how the Pentagon Papers shifted journalism's relationship to power, with galvanizing relevance. He praises its confidence and filmmaking verve but notes it is high-carb docudrama prose rather than poetry and not quite a work of art. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/the-post-review-tom-hanks-meryl-streep-1202631640/) ## Little White Lies — Charles Bramesco Rating 4/3/2. 18 January 2018. The critic finds the film strangely unsatisfying as a rushed political drama that forces a hopeful worldview onto the material, resulting in disingenuous cop-outs and sentimentality. It singles out the inauthenticity and attachment to an outdated idea of America for complaint. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-post) ## Radio Times — Andrew Collins Rating ★★★. The film offers a brisk, decent account of the Pentagon Papers story that succeeds in its retro-fitted arena and champions print journalism with contemporary resonance. It singles out the soft ending and coda referencing All the President's Men for complaint, noting it preaches to the choir. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/the-post-review-distinctly-trumpian-in-its-themes/) ## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf Rating 3/5. 19 December 2017. Streep's layered, insecure portrayal of Katharine Graham stands out as the most exciting element, but the film otherwise lacks bite and feels clichéd and rote under Spielberg's direction. It singles out the timely theme undercut by a dinosaur-like approach and false happily-ever-after ending for complaint. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-post) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2017. Spielberg has crafted another masterpiece with The Post, an urgent and timely newspaper drama about the Pentagon Papers that plays like a suspense thriller while emphasizing the importance of the free press. The critic singles out the extraordinary performances of Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, and the film's relevance to contemporary issues. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2017/12/the-post-review-meryl-streep-tom-hanks-steven-spielberg-pentagon-papers-1202221619/) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 4.5/5. 5 December 2017. The film is a celebration of the press checking a criminal presidency and one of the year's best, with gripping storytelling of truth versus power. Spielberg's deft touches and the performances of Streep and Hanks stand out in this timely history lesson. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-post-review/) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 9/10. 6 December 2017. The critic hails the film as the most important of 2017, a rousing and well-timed defense of the First Amendment and free press that holds a mirror to contemporary events. They single out Meryl Streep's nuanced performance as Katharine Graham and the film's feminist perspective as Spielberg shifts focus to a female protagonist. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/554890/the-post-review/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B+. 10 January 2018. Spielberg and his collaborators deliver a strong film through sheer talent about the importance of journalism and women's struggles in the workplace. It is a timely story set in 1971 that speaks to 2017, with outstanding performances from the stacked cast. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-post-review-steven-spielberg-meryl-streep/) ## HeyUGuys — Stefan Pape Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 January 2018. The critic describes the film as an intelligent, entertaining drama that is gloriously cinematic and fast-paced, likening it to Spotlight played on fast forward. They highlight the strong performances by Streep and Hanks along with a subtle feminist undercurrent, while noting it can feel convoluted at times but remains important amid debates over fake news. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-post-review/) ## NME — Olly Richards Rating 4/5. 15 January 2018. Spielberg's brisk, thrilling film tells the story of journalistic heroism and a woman claiming her power through the Pentagon Papers. Streep gives one of her finest performances in years as Graham in this quiet, riveting first-class storytelling. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/the-post-review-streep-hanks-spielberg-2219620) ## The Ringer — K. Austin Collins Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2017. The film is a nerdy, civil, heartening pro-journalism civics lesson and Spielberg master class with a stacked cast and political prescience. It stages arguments effectively and stands in awe of principled power in the right hands. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2017/12/24/movies/the-post-film-review-steven-spielberg-tom-hanks-meryl-streep) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 9 January 2018. Spielberg spins a lean and mean fourth estate yarn that examines the importance of a free press and speaking truth to power, with rich characterizations and suspense. The critic praises the performances, especially Streep's portrayal of Kay Graham's feminist awakening, while noting some clunky exposition. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-post-movie-review-steven-spielberg-meryl-streep-tom-hanks/) ## Consequence Rating B-. 19 December 2017. Spielberg turns the story of the free press into a fast-paced, wiry thriller and likable potboiler that feels timely and urgent. The film prioritizes pacing over rich characterization and deeper ideas, though Streep gives a tip-top nuanced performance. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2017/12/film-review-the-post/) ## The Skinny — Patrick Gamble Rating ★★★. 9 January 2018. Spielberg delivers a sumptuously stylised 70s docudrama about journalism's relationship to power that draws timely parallels to current events. The controlled, workmanlike account of the newsroom process creates some detachment but ultimately issues a rousing call for principled journalism. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-post) --- © 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-post.md