Critic Reviews
69
Metascore
Generally Favorable
positive
31(78%)
mixed
6(15%)
negative
3(8%)
Showing 40 Critic Reviews
100
Ron Howard and Russell Crowe bring the Braddock story to vivid life in a superbly acted, beautifully shot, highly engaging drama that ranks as one of Howard's best efforts.
100
An exquisite ode to a working-class hero, Cinderella Man takes the almost impossibly perfect elements of the saga of underdog boxer James J. Braddock and fills it with emotional gravitas, wrenching danger and a panoramic sense of American life during the Great Depression.
100
At last, his (Howard's) first great (and filling) movie--inspirational, yes, but far from hokey; moving, absolutely, but never saccharine; and gripping, despite its being a fixed fight.
100
Cinderella Man is not a movie about boxing, but about this boxer who personified the heart and hope of 1935.
100
In sum, the classical Ron Howard and his splendid cast have made a spellbinding movie that joins "Million Dollar Baby," as well as "Raging Bull," the first two "Rocky" pictures, and "Fat City" as one of boxing cinema's all-time heavyweight champs.
100
A premier boxing movie and a forceful Depression remembrance for the socially conscious, Cinderella Man also ices it for stargazers that Russell Crowe is the dominant screen actor working today.
100
An unflinching and historically rich rendering of an amazing story. He has made what is easily the best American film so far this year.
91
It's an eye-filling, sumptuously detailed historical epic that grandly re-creates the bloody gladiatorial spectacles and smoke-filled, spit-flying, claustrophobically crowded arenas of its bygone era.
88
It's the classic American tale of the family man triumphant, and Howard makes sure that it hits you right in the heart.
88
Smashing, supremely engrossing picture.
