Critic Reviews
53
Metascore
Mixed or Average
positive
13(45%)
mixed
14(48%)
negative
2(7%)
Showing 29 Critic Reviews
Oct 16, 2011
83
Frankel's movie is as refreshing as a walk in the woods and surprising as a chance encounter with the best that nature can offer.
Oct 12, 2011
75
The Big Year is getting the enthusiastic support of the Audubon Society, and has an innocence and charm that will make it appealing for families, especially those who have had enough whales and dolphins for the year.
Oct 13, 2011
70
The uniformly winning cast, led by Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson, and the ultra-accessible touch provided by director David Frankel provide for a constant steam of gentle mirth, if not huge laughs.
Oct 13, 2011
70
Genial and mild, The Big Year doesn't give in to the temptation to juice up its story with outsized caricatures or inflated dramas.
Oct 13, 2011
70
The Big Year is better when it is examining the obsession of the birders, and Martin, Black and Wilson are enjoyable in toned-down mode.
Oct 13, 2011
70
Like birding itself, The Big Year rewards patience. It respects both the integrity and the eccentricity of the avian obsession, and it communicates something of the fascinating abundance and weirdness of the animals themselves.
Oct 13, 2011
70
If you're in the mood for some feathery fluff of the happy-sappy-and-not-wholly-unpleasant sort and need a break from snark, there is The Big Year.
Oct 19, 2011
70
The Big Year turns out to be one of the smartest and funniest films this year.
Oct 12, 2011
67
The more I sat through it, the more it won me over in its very benign high-concept way. It's like "City Slickers" remade for the Discovery Channel.
Oct 12, 2011
63
What this film from the director of "The Devil Wears Prada" does manage is a gentle amiability.
