Critic Reviews

What’s so refreshing here isn’t just that the four-episode revival is so brief and self-contained, but that it manages to feel authentic to the original without being a simple facsimile.

“Malcolm in the Middle: Life is Still Unfair” is loud, uncouth, heartfelt, uneven, and hilarious. It carries on the tradition of the original that way. And like the original, it’s worth a watch.

Life’s Still Unfair doesn’t put too much effort into establishing this show for new audiences; it plays much more as a love letter to the fans who can actually remember things like the existence of Hal and Lois’s fifth son Jamie (Anthony Timpano). However, it does showcase the reasons why this particular family has stayed alive in our imaginations all these years.

All four episodes of Life's Still Unfair are rock solid from start to finish, but the fourth and final installment really makes this return to the beloved sitcom worth it.

Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair is a raucous hoot of a four-episode reunion that, unlike so many shows on streaming or just about anywhere, leaves us wanting much more. Yet we’re also happily satisfied with the reboot’s breezy, boisterous brevity.

The four-episode project, which was originally pitched as a movie, firmly replants viewers into the world of Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) and his wild family without missing a beat, and leaves you wanting so much more.

The old cast remember who they were and throw themselves headlong into their parts; the newcomers, who are given a lot to do, keep up, and it’s a shame we won’t see more of them. If the show is not as physical as it once was, everyone being older, it’s still pretty intense.

Once you get past the idea of everyone all grown up or growing older, “Malcolm” is good, a worthwhile exercise.

Malcolm's creator Linwood Boomer and his collaborators put the passage of time front and center. Life's Still Unfair doesn't try to act like it's normal that all these people are acting the same way after decades have passed. It's entirely about how unhealthy so much of this is. It only occasionally resembles the highs of the show's younger incarnation, but it's acknowledging that challenge the entire time.

I can't speak for every fan, but "Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair" is almost every bit as delightful, bonkers, and mad fun as the original was.