Most critics respond warmly to The Lazarus Project, with praise clustering around Paapa Essiedu’s lead performance and the personal costs of resetting time. The reviews find that its questions about whose lives can be saved give the science-fiction premise emotional weight, while the action and espionage keep it moving. Essiedu is the clearest point of agreement, though the ensemble also earns praise. Several critics welcome a story that develops beyond its apparent procedural beginnings into something more morally complicated.
The reservations concern familiarity and how much effort the plotting demands. Most find enough human interest to carry them through the complications, but The Telegraph considers the thriller clichéd despite its strong opening and excellent lead. Den of Geek is the most enthusiastic, praising the way large ideas are grounded in ordinary lives. The spread runs from qualified approval to considerable enthusiasm, with only one mixed assessment and no outright rejection.