Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Apr 17, 2023 B

Dazzles with brilliant underwater photography.

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Yip Wai Yee The Straits Times (Singapore) Mar 31, 2023 3/5

It is a universal all-ages call to environmental activism, because the passion of just one girl does make a difference.

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Whang Yee Ling The Straits Times (Singapore) Mar 29, 2023 3/5

This slight but engaging eco-family film needs to impress upon you that the marine ecosystem is dying from climate change and destructive commerce.

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Tim Cogshell FilmWeek (LAist) Mar 15, 2023

A lovely, sweet family film.

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Liam Lacey Original Cin Mar 9, 2023 C

The sincere but stilted script limits this Australian environmental drama about a mother, a daughter, and a fish.

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Andrew Parker The Gate Mar 9, 2023 5/10

Well intentioned, looks nice, and is decently performed, but it’s also flat, lethargic, and exhausting when it should be eye opening, educational, magical, and transformative.

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Richard Crouse Richard Crouse Mar 9, 2023 3/5

Blueback is a well-intentioned but heavy-handed film that mixes-and-matches mother and daughter dynamics with messages about the fragility of marine environments and the importance of conservationism.

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Tara McNamara Common Sense Media Mar 7, 2023 3/5

Blueback doesn't try to give too much information, but keeping the educational content generalized actually works a bit against it.

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Joel Copling Spectrum Culture Mar 7, 2023

The failing of Blueback is that it lacks the courage of its convictions.

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Alex Saveliev Film Threat Mar 6, 2023 6/10

These visuals make the abundant preaching throughout Blueback palatable but make you long for a tighter focus and a subtler approach.

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Todd Jorgenson Cinemalogue Mar 4, 2023

The underwater cinematography along Australian’s coastal reefs is breathtaking, although the wholesome and heartfelt script merely skims the surface.

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Jackie K. Cooper jackiekcooper.com Mar 4, 2023 5/10

There are lovely scenes of the Australian marine world but the script is a hop, skip and jump through time.

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Alan French Sunshine State Cineplex Mar 3, 2023 6/10

Blueback‘s message makes it impossible to ignore. If we can save our local wildlife, we can save wildlife on a broader level.

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Amy Nicholson New York Times Mar 3, 2023 C+

You can feel barnacles on the dialogue, like when a corporate bully (Erik Thomson) growls, “You and your mom really think you can stop this, don’t you?”

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Stephanie Zacharek TIME Magazine Mar 3, 2023

Manages to be pensive and breezy at once, a reflection on the way those who raise us sometimes impart their most noble values to us even as they’re driving us crazy—and their little ways of annoying us are often the things we miss most when they’re gone.

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Nell Minow RogerEbert.com Mar 3, 2023 2/4

“Blueback” is beautiful to look at and touchingly sincere about the urgency of protecting the oceans, but it is also thinly scripted.

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Jennie Kermode Eye for Film Mar 3, 2023 3/5

Robert Connolly successfully delivers a story which has enough nuance to keep adults from getting bored whilst remaining accessible to younger viewers.

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Gary Goldstein Los Angeles Times Mar 3, 2023

A transporting mother-daughter (and fish) drama as well as a beautifully shot memory piece that will reward patient viewers able to settle in and enjoy the film’s accessibly low-key vibe.

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Christopher Lloyd The Film Yap Mar 2, 2023 3.5/5

A tender-hearted environmental drama about a girl who falls in love with the ocean and a mysterious giant fish while navigating a contentious relationship with her mother.

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Mark Dujsik Mark Reviews Movies Mar 2, 2023 1.5/4

Blueback simply doesn't tell enough of a story for us to really care about a lesson as predictable and self-evident as the one being presented here.

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