Dan Webster Spokesman-Review (Washington) Jul 27, 2024 2.5/4

Too much fantasy can spoil the tale, and that's just what happens in this story.

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Philip French Observer (UK) Mar 29, 2023

A piece of sentimental uplift for the Reagan era.

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Derek Malcolm Guardian Mar 28, 2023

The fable just about holds together. At any rate it doesn't have much need of the glue of its soupy score. But you know Hollywood. We need to have a little pain around if we are to believe in the magic.

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Victoria Mather Daily Telegraph (UK) Mar 28, 2023

What is likable about this film is that it extols children being kind to each other.

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Gavin Bainbridge Empire Magazine Jul 16, 2020

A commendable rarity: a sensitive children's film that neither patronises them nor insults their intelligence.

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Johanna Steinmetz Chicago Tribune Jul 16, 2020 2/4

The unevenness in tone here makes watching ''The Boy Who Could Fly'' a little like hitting airpockets in a puddlejumper.

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Jay Boyar Orlando Sentinel Jul 16, 2020

Though the film is both sappy and cliched, it's not as sappy or cliched as might be expected.

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Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times Jul 16, 2020

"The Boy Who Could Fly" is as fragile as a kite, yet it's kept aloft by the commitment of writer-director Nick Castle and the talent and presence of lovely young Lucy Deakins, who has that crucial gift of catching us up in her imagination.

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Roger Hurlburt South Florida Sun-Sentinel Jul 16, 2020

Everyone has dreams about flying. Here, with The Boy Who Could Fly, one feels it just might be possible -- if not in the head, at least in the heart.

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Ángel Luis Inurria El Pais (Spain) Jun 5, 2020

Its vision is light and full of personality. [Full Review in Spanish]

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Tim Brayton Alternate Ending Apr 19, 2020 2.5/5

Grows increasingly trite and unengaging as it moves along.

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David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Aug 3, 2018 2/4

Filmmaker Castle has infused The Boy Who Could Fly with an exceedingly (and often excessively) deliberate pace that prevents the viewer from connecting to the material throughout...

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media Dec 28, 2010 4/5

A charming fantasy with a lot of heart.

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Variety Staff Variety Mar 26, 2009

Under Nick Castle's careful direction, scenes never become maudlin, which is remarkable considering the potential of the subject matter. Deakins and Underwood handle their difficult roles with amazing grace.

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Caffeinated Clint Moviehole Apr 19, 2008 4/5

One of the best family films of the 80s. Lucy Deakins and Jay Underwood are delightful. A film you'll cherish forever.

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Simon Garfield Time Out Feb 9, 2006

Director Castle gets lost in fantasy, spoiling a promising portrait with some heavy-handed emotional manipulation and an escapist conclusion.

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Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Aug 11, 2005 2/5

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Jonathan R. Perry Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) Jun 1, 2005 3/5

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Audrey Rock-Richardson Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) Dec 21, 2004 3/5

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Janet Maslin New York Times Aug 30, 2004

A gentle and affecting film that ought to charm older children while also holding their parents' interest...

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