47
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerAn unusually intelligent adventure film scaled for younger viewers, which never leaves adults behind.
- 70TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxWhile probably not suitable for the wee ones, older kids and most adults will love this exciting and heartfelt adventure of one boy's survival during the darkest days of post-war Europe.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThe movie meets the requirements of the "Life Is Beautiful" school; those loyal to the tougher, more stringent Osama academy of realism need not apply.
- 50Dallas ObserverGregory WeinkaufDallas ObserverGregory WeinkaufI Am David is by far the best after-school special to hit the big screen this season.
- 50Chicago TribuneRobert K. ElderChicago TribuneRobert K. ElderThe beautifully shot but dramatically strained I Am David falls prey to the defect of all poor road movies: In gluing together unbelievable but convenient episodes with sugary sentimentality, it loses most of its credibility.
- 40The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterThe picture is essentially a tearjerker, with little originality or insight.
- 40The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasWhile it's not always necessary for filmmakers to relate that closely to their material, Feig's marked distance from the story of a sullen boy who parts the Iron Curtain may account for its generic artlessness.
- 40Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumUnfortunately writer-director Paul Feig has a weakness for artiness in general and hokey art movies in particular, and the overall sluggishness of this 2003 adaptation starring Ben Tibber makes such devices as slow-motion seem like mannered rhetoric.
- 38Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertI couldn't believe a moment of it, and never identified with little David.