68
Metascore
46 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Film ThreatAlex SavelievFilm ThreatAlex SavelievEastwood once again takes a sharp stab at America’s penchant for attacking first, asking questions later.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyIt’s Hauser who carries the film in a rare and unlikely role, that of a presumed loser in life (the man did die just a few years later, at 44) who suffered very unwanted attention — but who, when he needed to, found a way to rise to the occasion.
- 75The PlaylistRobert DanielsThe PlaylistRobert DanielsThe director’s best asset remains his indelible style. In his films, he usually doesn’t employ much fluff, limiting how often he cuts. Instead, he relies on pans and savvy blocking. That’s imperative in Richard Jewell, a steady biopic whose best upticks arrive through patience.
- 70VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeA good story is a good story, and Eastwood knows how to tell a good story.
- 70Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonThankfully, Eastwood’s sure grasp of this inherently compelling story mostly overcomes his sentimental propensities.
- 67The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyLike so many of the works of Eastwood’s long late period, Jewell offers a story without much of an endpoint, with an uplifting coda that feels almost as jarring as the ending of "American Sniper." But somewhere within its surprisingly pacey two-plus hours is a compelling group portrait of ordinary oddballs in cruel circumstances; it relays Eastwood’s appreciation for individuals over masses better than any speech ever could.
- 63Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsRichard Jewell is a sincere and extremely well-acted irritant from 89-year-old director Clint Eastwood. It’s destined to get under the hides of different moviegoers in radically different ways.
- 63Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenIronically, Clint Eastwood is as condescending of Jewell as the bureaucrats he despises.
- 50TheWrapRobert AbeleTheWrapRobert AbeleOutside of its major assets, which include “I, Tonya” scene-stealer Paul Walter Hauser’s unapologetically showy performance as Jewell and Sam Rockwell’s sardonic turn as his underdog lawyer, there’s a mystifying lack of clarity to the dramatic impact this retelling is seeking.