67
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Original-CinKim HughesOriginal-CinKim HughesThe Loneliest Whale is gripping and highly persuasive, blending hard science with real-life action/adventure sequences, talking-head interviews, and — sorry, sorry — a whale of a true story that has been headline news for years.
- 80Even if you don’t care much about whales, or don’t think you do, Joshua Zeman’s enthusiastic documentary The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 might make you care about people who care about whales.
- 75TheWrapCarlos AguilarTheWrapCarlos AguilarWhile Zeman’s enthusiasm is occasionally infectious, his conjectures, explained in voiceover, are riddled with platitudes and self-centered sound bites that say more about an egotistical need to be the first at something, to be the one who found 52, than about our connection with our large swimming counterparts.
- 70The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisNeither slick nor propulsive, The Loneliest Whale gently combines aquatic adventure and bobbing meditation on our own species’s environmental arrogance.
- 63Slant MagazineMark JenkinsSlant MagazineMark JenkinsWhile 52 remains something of a mystery, The Loneliest Whale renders him less of a metaphor.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe preceding journey might have been smoother, but the doc is a reminder that we still know so little about the oceans and their inhabitants, and an illustration of how much hope we attach to them.
- 60The GuardianCath ClarkeThe GuardianCath ClarkeThis is a film raised a fair few notches by the wonder of geekery, the absolute joy of seeing scientists living and breathing their work.
- 50VarietyTomris LafflyVarietyTomris LafflyThe result is a well-meaning but somewhat granola, partly engaging yet disorganized documentary, one that searches for an imprecise story and struggles to keep its chief ambitions afloat.