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Critic Reviews

Ken Kwapis' 'Big MIracle': Defiantly old-fashioned, in a 1950s way, and impressively untrendy

-Joe BaltakeFull Review

There's something refreshing about a kids' movie that manages to get through its entire length without a poop joke.

-Stephen WhittyFull Review

"Big Miracle" might be subtitled, "How Hollywood Turned a Real Story Into Bogus Fiction."

-Rafer GuzmanFull Review

Big Miracle is not one of those whale tales that leaves the audience blubbering, but it's open to the allure of the imposing creatures, which resemble long boulders that have come to life.

-Liam LaceyFull Review

"Big Miracle" shouldn't really work, but it does.

-Lou LumenickFull Review

Cold War-era bonding over whales? It would sound utterly absurd if it weren't based on fact. And that's part of what makes this movie fun for adults.

-Stephanie MerryFull Review

Given the abundance of one-dimensional human portrayals, it becomes apparent that a documentary on the subject might have been more powerful.

-Claudia PuigFull Review

"Big Miracle" gets off to a shaky start, but once revved up, it becomes an involving work-against-the-clock-and-the-odds action movie.

-Rachel SaltzFull Review

It is a whale of a comic tale, if also one overly crowded with characters and incidents.

-Peter HowellFull Review

Instead of this being a story of a bunch of lovely people doing a lovely thing, it's rather the story of average people who become much better people as a result of doing a lovely thing, even though some start out doing it for less than noble reasons.

-Mick LaSalleFull Review

There may not be a second of say, Whale Rider's lyricism (that's still the best whale movie out there), but this energetic family movie is less insipid than it looks.

-Mary F. PolsFull Review

It's amazing a movie hasn't been made about these Reagan-era events before now. But the enjoyable "Big Miracle" offers perspective, balancing sentiment with healthy skepticism about human motivations.

-Tom KeoghFull Review

It needs only to entertain. And that it does thoroughly, leaving us both charmed and enriched without feeling very preached at. Praise be.

-Janice PageFull Review

The longer Big Miracle goes on, the more it settles for an amiable communitarianism chased down by a PG group-hug finale.

-Ella TaylorFull Review

The genuinely sweet nature of this sometimes clunky movie is mixed with a little sass, and wins you over.

-Joe NeumaierFull Review

If you think it's absolutely not your kind of thing, you might be surprised.

-Glenn KennyFull Review

The movie balances its sentimental side with a healthy dose of cynicism.

-Rene RodriguezFull Review

"Big Miracle" tells its sort-of-true version of events in a democratic and humane fashion, by way of a rangy, lively group of competing interests who actually do on occasion act like real people.

-Michael PhillipsFull Review

Keeps the film from getting too cluttered by with performances that give us an instant connection to the humans literally trying to save the whales.

-Nell MinowFull Review

Like a whale itself, "Big Miracle" is large and unwieldy -- but it also has its moments of splendor.

-Christy LemireFull Review

While rooting for the marine mammals (and wishing for more footage of them-and even of their animatronic incarnations), your heart will also go out to the cast, stuck even more pitiably in syrupy manufactured crises.

-Melissa AndersonFull Review

There are more subtle movies out there, but few more uplifting.

-James LuxfordFull Review

Big Miracle is invested with solid craftsmanship and a nuanced view of how idealism, pragmatism, and politics intersect.

-Mark PfeifferFull Review

This is, well, huge.

-Linda CookFull Review

This is, well, huge. This 'little story,' which occurred in 1988, is made all the more real by clips of real film footage and TV newscasts from that era. 'Big Miracle' refers, of course, to the immensity of the story and its main players - three whales.

-Linda CookFull Review

Political cynicism, media opportunism, dogmatic native traditions, corporate greed and environmentalist stubbornness are each, in turn, dashed against this sunny confection.

-Roger MooreFull Review

funny, tear jerking, smart, and not a little subversive with a few well-place jabs at unexpectedly deserving parties as well as a few kudos in a few surprising places

-Andrea ChaseFull Review


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