Neal Justin Minneapolis Star Tribune Aug 5, 2026 4.5/5

Just when the action threatens to get sappy, director Rob Reiner gives the film a modern-day twist.

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Bernard Zuel Sydney Morning Herald Apr 28, 2026

taking parodic elements, but retaining too much affection to parody, The Princess Bride has everything you could ask for in a movie.

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Lou Cedrone Baltimore Sun Jan 21, 2026 3/4

An almost constant delight.

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David Crumpler Florida Times-Union Jan 21, 2026 4/5

The Princess Bride is visually a very rich film. The camera shows us color as vivid as a child's imagination.

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David Elliott Copley News Service Jan 12, 2026

Reiner has a lot of light grace, and the film has a floating good spirit.

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Jeff Strickler Minneapolis Star Tribune Jan 7, 2026 10/10

The film's strength begins with a deftly crafted script that does what many had believed was impossible: converting a book to film without losing anything in translation.

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Dennis King Tulsa World Jan 7, 2026 4/5

With The Princess Bride, Reiner has added to his growing reputation as a thoughtful, original filmmaker. This guy hasn't made a bad movie yet.

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Laurie Ochoa L.A. Weekly Jan 7, 2026

We've yawned through the demographically perfect bliss of studio films for so long that The Princess Bride... seems too good to be true. But director Rob Reiner and writer William Goldman awaken us from our slumber with a jolt of pure Hollywood magic.

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JoAnn Rhetts Charlotte Observer Jan 7, 2026 5/5

The Princess Bride is Reiner's third movie, and what it has in common with his first two is that there's not a mean bone in its body. Reiner's is a gentle wit, a tongue-in-cheek and clever wit but one that's as light as Buttercup's wedding dress.

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Bruce R. Miller Sioux City Journal Jan 7, 2026 4/4

Fused with a form of narration that would give Steven Spielberg reason to pause, "Bride" is a dandy actioner for the kids, a delightful romp for the folks -- the perfect family film of 1987.

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Philip Wuntch Dallas Morning News Jan 7, 2026

It is entirely possible that a future film historian will simply describe Carl Reiner in a footnote as "a comedy director, and the father of Rob."

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Gene Siskel Chicago Tribune Jan 7, 2026 3.5/4

It is the bright humor of this story, based on William Goldman's novel, that has us laughing all through familiar territory.

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Lou Lumenick Bergen Record (New Jersey) Jan 7, 2026 2.5/4

Neither terribly funny nor rousingly exciting, The Princess Bride tries to be both. It's sad to see a movie that's the victim of its own ambitiousness.

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Jeff Simon Buffalo News Jan 7, 2026

Just when you get all uneasy about all the amiable silliness, low-pressure cleverness and narrative confection, someone like Billy Crystal will come along... You just can't remain suspicious anymore. Why fight it? You have to try too hard to resist it.

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Bill Cosford Miami Herald Jan 7, 2026 3.5/4

The Princess Bride has pretty much everything the modern fairy tale requires, plus jokes. It's an unexpected pleasure, as sweetly unassuming as it is late-nite hip.

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Michael H. Price Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com Jan 7, 2026 6/10

Although bland casting of the romantic leads weakens it, Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride is delightful lighthearted escapism. The film also suggests that reading beats moviegoing any day.

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Robert W. Butler Kansas City Star Jan 7, 2026 2.5/4

Reiner's strength is his sincerity. He's able to skewer the conventions of the adventure genre while still celebrating them. Still, The Princess Bride suffers from some draggy moments.

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Elise Gibson Austin American-Statesman Jan 7, 2026 4/4

Check your cynicism at the door, but bring your funny bone and sense of wonder when you go see The Princess Bride.

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Jay Carr Boston Globe Jan 7, 2026

Despite a certain kind of flatness, it's the kind of movie that parents will relish taking their children to on the grounds that they themselves will also be entertained.

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Hal Lipper Tampa Bay Times Jan 7, 2026 4/5

A magical motion picture that can whisk viewers from reality to fantasy, and back again, with the greatest of ease.

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