72
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 91The PlaylistRodrigo PerezThe PlaylistRodrigo PerezMordaunt’s eye indicates a thoughtful filmmaker able to listen to the winds of what a movie needs. Effortlessly natural, his workmanlike craft carries the capacity to keep an ear open to happenstance.
- 90Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWall Street JournalJoe MorgensternWatching Ahlo mix his explosives is like watching a Cordon Bleu chef whipping up a stupendous soufflé.
- 85Film.comJordan HoffmanFilm.comJordan HoffmanThe kid performances are impressive and the subtext of a region still shaking off the effects of a long-ended war gives seed to some much needed discussion.
- 80VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibMordaunt previously directed a docu in Laos that featured kids who sold unexploded bombs for scrap metal, and that earlier experience invests this feature’s characters and milieu with an absolute integrity.
- 80Village VoiceJohn OurslerVillage VoiceJohn OurslerThe Rocket's ample pleasures come from Mordaunt localizing this tested formula rather than trying to reinvent it.
- 75Slant MagazineNick McCarthySlant MagazineNick McCarthyThe particulars of Laos's historical conflicts are sometimes only obliquely confronted, but the torrid past of covered-up wars palpably echoes through the scarred yet majestic landscapes.
- 70The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisWhat gives this movie its sting is that, despite Mr. Mordaunt’s insistent attempts at uplift, death hovers over this story at every single moment.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeYoung actor Sitthiphon Disamoe helps keep the tale of a can-do kid from becoming too cute.
- 60Time OutTime OutKim Mordaunt’s when-life-gives-you-land-mines tale is light on well-drawn characters, but its performances, especially from the nonprofessional junior members, more than light the fuse for the finale.
- 50The DissolveNoah BerlatskyThe DissolveNoah BerlatskyThe Rocket is a well-constructed delivery system for sparkly cheer, but it lacks a more substantial payload.