MU Review Watch

Reviews for Monsters University are finally starting to trickle out.

As of now, June 10, 2013 - 2:21 PM Eastern, Monsters University is currently at a rather disappointing 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. Three of its reviews are also on Metacritic.

One of the two rotten reviews comes from IndieWire, but Tomatoes counts it as a "rotten". Metacritic counts it as a positive review, but the critic goes as far as saying "Pixar has lost its edge". *facepalm*

The other one is more mixed. Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter writes that the film is a "humdrum straight of line film" and also feels that it was "alarmingly lame". McCarthy was also negative on Brave but he called Cars 2 another "Pixar winner". Hmmmm...

Now, how about the 5 positive reviews? Justin Chang of Variety was pretty positive on the film, though he does state that doesn't attempt to "scale the heights of Pixar's past" and does give it credit for other things. The Wrap's Alonso Duralde says it's "solidly average". One pretty positive review says that the film is "proof that prequels can be done right".

So far, the vibe I'm getting is this: "It's good, but not 'Pixar Good'." I fear that this will be Brave all over again... (The critical reception, not the film itself.)

Update - June 10, 2013 - 4:04 PM Eastern

On Metacritic, it's at 66, which is a cut above "mixed reception", adding The Guardian's review that's been on Rotten Tomatoes.

Going against this batch of decidedly mixed reviews are some very positive reactions from other sites. /Film's Germain Lussier gave it a great 9 out of 10, the site had given Brave a 7. A good sign right there! Bleeding Cool? Also very positive, as their Brendon Connelly says it's their "funniest and most engaging since The Incredibles, and the most emotionally affecting since Finding Nemo and possibly even Monsters, Inc."

Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic ought to count these two reviews...

Update - June 15, 2013 - 10:27 PM Eastern

Slowly but surely, the percentage went up. It's now at a very good 86%! 12 positive reviews against 2 negative. (Though that IndieWire one still gave it a B, so it's really 13 fresh.) But the reviews themselves share the same sentiment. They're saying it's just a minor effort from the Leaping Lamp, a particularly insulting review from Schmoes Know says it's a "kids movie through and through". Pixar doesn't make "kids films", people... The average score is a 7.

The Metacritic score is still a 66, since only 4 reviews have been counted.

Update - June 20, 2013 - 10:29 PM Eastern

Monsters University is now at 77% on Rotten Tomatoes... With a consensus: "It doesn't scale the heights of Pixar's finest efforts, but Monsters University is still funny and thoughtful family entertainment for viewers of any age."

Ughh, again with the "it doesn't match Pixar's best"... At this rate, people and critics will have to accept that not every Pixar film is going to be WALL-E or Up. Like I've been saying, they're not gonna churn out A+/perfect/10-out-of-10 films forever... And that's totally alright. A 77% is better than a 67% anyway, which also applies to Brave.

But I get the sense that the "Pixar is dead" bandwagon baddies will say that this film (since they did so with Brave) is another sign of Pixar's downward spiral... Get ready for another wave of that garbage, folks...

Metacritic has it at a positive, but not so great 63 with a total of 30 reviews: 17 positive, 13 mixed... No negatives whatsoever.

More updates to come...

"The Croods" Digs Up Good Reception

The other day, DreamWorks' new animated film The Croods had a solid 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. It seemed like the new Chris Sanders film was another winner much like his last film - and his first for DreamWorks - How To Train Your Dragon.

But now that the film has finally opened and more critics have seen it, the percentage dropped quite a bit... To a respectable 64%. Metacritic, on the other hand, has it at a "mixed" 56. However, Rise of the Guardians has a 57 on there while its percentage on Rotten Tomatoes was over 70%, ditto Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (RT - 79% / Meta - 60).

Once again, it's another critical success for DreamWorks! Another indicator of how well they've been doing lately.

Reviews imply that the film looks great and is overall a fun romp for the whole family, but it's definitely not up to the best. Other reviews somewhat confirm what I thought this film would turn out to be. It's more in line with Madagascar than How To Train Your Dragon, so it's a little more comedic and it has quite a bit of slapstick. Nothing wrong with that, Madagascar 3 took that tone and ran with it. In turn, it was a good film because of that. I may say the same thing about this film.

So basically, according to the critics, The Croods is a fun flick but nothing spectacular. Well, we'll see what I think of it. I may think it's great, very good or maybe mediocre... You never know! When I get around to seeing it, expect a review!