--- title: "UNABOMBER: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/unabomber/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/unabomber" critics_score: 44 critics_reviews: 9 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." --- # UNABOMBER (2026): what the critics said Critics' score 44 from 9 reviews: 0 positive, 5 mixed, 4 negative. The consensus on UNABOMBER runs from qualified approval to outright disappointment, with no strongly positive verdict among the nine reviews. The recurring complaint is that the film offers too little insight into Kaczynski, reducing a difficult subject to familiar psychological explanations. Praise centres on Jacob Tremblay’s intensity and vulnerability, though his performance is far from unanimously admired. Vulture also singles out Russell Crowe’s seductive charisma, while The Wrap finds merit in Marco Beltrami’s score. The reviews differ over whether those strengths make the film worthwhile. Some find it intermittently insightful or effective; others describe it as dull, empty or unconvincing. Reservations cluster around simplistic accounts of family trauma and the psychological experiments, alongside an FBI storyline that several critics find weakening or disconnected. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter also fault Tremblay’s performance, making the lead acting a clear point of disagreement even as dissatisfaction with the writing is widespread. ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 24 September 2026. The page is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint is available to report. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/movies/unabomber-review-a-not-so-beautiful-mind.html) ## IndieWire — Alison Foreman Rating C+. 24 September 2026. Foreman finds the biopic insightful at times but dangerously simplistic, criticizing its invented diagnosis and tidy explanation of Kaczynski’s actions. She praises Jacob Tremblay’s intense performance, while faulting the film for leaving too little room to reckon with Kaczynski’s crimes. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/unabomber-review-netflix-1235218559/) ## The AV Club — Natalia Keogan Rating C+. 24 September 2026. Keogan finds the biopic generic and insufficiently truthful about Kaczynski’s life and ideas. She criticizes its shallow treatment of the Harvard psychological study and its reliance on familiar family-trauma clichés. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/unabomber-review-netflix-jacob-tremblay-russell-crowe-biopic) ## Radio Times — Terry Staunton Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2026. The review describes the film as an incomplete but watchable puzzle, giving it a mixed, mildly positive verdict. The headline singles out its incompleteness as the main shortcoming; the review body is unavailable to identify any further praise or criticism. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/unabomber-netflix-review/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Richard Lawson Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2026. Lawson finds the film facile and unenlightening, with little insight into Kaczynski or his capture. He gives some credit to the moody Cold War atmosphere, but faults the writing and Jacob Tremblay’s performance. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/unabomber-review-jacob-tremblay-russell-crowe-netflix-1236709412/) ## Variety — Guy Lodge Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2026. Lodge finds the film a dull, unconvincing true-crime thriller with little insight or tension. He singles out the disconnected timelines, hokey script, and Tremblay’s unconvincing performance as key weaknesses. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/unabomber-review-1236874990/) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 24 September 2026. Ebiri finds the film empty and artistically half-hearted, with little to say about Kaczynski or his story. He praises Jacob Tremblay’s vulnerable performance and Russell Crowe’s seductive charisma, but says the experiments and manhunt are rendered too vaguely to give the story weight. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-netflixs-unabomber-cant-even-do-true-crime-right.html) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 6/10. 24 September 2026. The critic finds the film effective but says its FBI storyline repeatedly weakens the experience. They praise Jacob Tremblay’s intense performance as young Ted Kaczynski. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/2267847/unabomber-netflix-2026-movie-review/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2026. The critic finds the film unfocused and ultimately a dud, with its two storylines failing to connect. Jacob Tremblay’s performance and Marco Beltrami’s score are singled out for praise, while the film’s overplayed psychological connection draws complaint. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/unabomber-review-netflix-jacob-tremblay-shailene-woodley-russell-crowe/) --- © 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/unabomber.md