Movies
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
Wide Releases
Now In Theaters
76
(500) Days of Summer
49
2012
60
9
17
All About Steve
37
Amelia
53
Astro Boy
70
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
52
Blind Side
47
Box, The
61
Capitalism: A Love Story
55
Christmas Carol, A
43
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
66
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
23
Couples Retreat
39
Fame
30
Final Destination, The
34
Fourth Kind, The
41
G-Force
46
Halloween II
73
Hangover, The
78
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
66
Informant!, The
69
Inglourious Basterds
58
Invention of Lying, The
47
Jennifer's Body
66
Julie & Julia
34
Law Abiding Citizen
54
Men Who Stare At Goats, The
67
Michael Jackson's This Is It
28
Pandorum
58
Pirate Radio
39
Planet 51
30
Saw VI
53
Shorts
33
Stepfather, The
45
Surrogates
46
Twilight Saga: New Moon, The
71
Where the Wild Things Are
67
Whip It
28
Whiteout
73
Zombieland
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Limited Releases
Now In Theaters
58
(Untitled)
96
35 Shots of Rum![]()
56
Adam
39
Adventures of Power
66
Afterschool
73
Amreeka
49
Antichrist
76
Baader Meinhof Complex, The
86
Beaches of Agnes, The![]()
71
Big Fan
65
Black Dynamite
76
Bliss
26
Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The
44
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
81
Bright Star![]()
76
Broken Embraces
70
Bronson
62
Cloud 9
65
Coco Before Chanel
69
Cold Souls
60
Collapse
82
Cove, The![]()
75
Crude
82
Damned United, The![]()
53
Dare
50
Defamation
67
Departures
70
Earth Days
85
Education, An![]()
55
Endgame
88
Fantastic Mr. Fox![]()
31
Fix
49
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
80
Food, Inc.
xx
From Mexico with Love
28
Gentlemen Broncos
72
Good Hair
89
Goodbye Solo![]()
63
Horse Boy, The
74
House of the Devil, The
xx
How to Seduce Difficult Women
26
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
70
It Might Get Loud
46
Killing Kasztner
43
Little Traitor, The
34
Looking for Palladin
80
Lorna's Silence
46
Love Hurts
84
Maid, The![]()
45
Mammoth
75
Messenger, The
55
Missing Person, The
59
More Than a Game
34
Motherhood
62
My One and Only
48
New York, I Love You
66
No Impact Man
26
Oh My God
68
Paranormal Activity
68
Paris
79
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire
73
Red Cliff
69
September Issue, The
79
Serious Man, A
65
Skin
41
Splinterheads
42
Staten Island
50
Stoning of Soraya M., The
58
Storm
82
Sun, The![]()
49
Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon
73
That Evening Sun
61
Trucker
49
Turning Green
83
U2 3D![]()
45
Uncertainty
67
Visual Acoustics
32
War on Kids
67
Way We Get By, The
65
Wedding Song, The
xx
White on Rice
59
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
74
Woman in Berlin, A
43
Women in Trouble
69
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Antwone Fisher
EMAILPRINTFox Searchlight Pictures

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 32 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 46 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Antwone Fisher
Directed by: Denzel Washington
Release Date:
Theatrical: December 19, 2002
DVD: May 20, 2003
Running Time: 113 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for violence, language and mature thematic material involving child abuse
Starring Derek Luke, Joy Bryant, Denzel Washington, Salli Richardson, Earl Billings, Kevin Connolly, Viola Davis, and Rainoldo Gooding
The story of a man who digs inside himself to discover therein lies a king...A sailor with an explosive attitude, Fisher (Luke) is ordered to see a naval psychiatrist (Washington) about his volatile temper. Little did he know that his first step into the doctor's office would lead him on a journey home. (Fox Searchlight)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: The Great Debaters
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
A deceptively simple movie with a deeply felt message.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Antwone Fisher has a confrontation with his past, and a speech to the mother who abandoned him, and a reunion with his family, that create great, heartbreaking, joyous moments.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Emotionally honest, feel-good saga with a universality that stands out in a season of singularly depressing and cynical Hollywood product.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Mark Caro
Washington, typically, is rock-solid in front of the camera, conveying ample warmth and sympathy. Behind the camera, he's a relatively straightforward storyteller, strategic in his use of lyrical touches.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Washington brings it off with an unforced and well-earned emotional wallop, and whose strong hand, keen eye, sweet spirit and good taste are reflected in almost every scene.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ernest Hardy
The film offers an impressive melding of quietly radical images and ideas with, yes, an old-fashioned, crowd-pleasing holiday tearjerker.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
An assured directorial debut that goes straight for the tear ducts.
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Blessedly free of the self-righteous histrionics and sentimentality that so often cheapen powerful personal stories.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Corny. But it's corny in a way that a Hollywood movie about a boy who just wants to go home ought to be corny. Plus when it's done with this much care, corny works for me.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
There are a few occasions when Antwone Fisher crosses the line to become too syrupy -- For the most part, however, the production radiates emotional honesty.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
The rare sort of movie that gives predictability a good name.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
The uniformly fine performances are a tribute to Washington, who plays the shrink with his customary command.
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
A good film that, with a little extra care, could have been great.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Rarest and most impressive of all, Antwone Fisher is a serious drama set in the African American community, one that showcases powerful, confrontational scenes between black actors.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
A movie so profoundly in touch with its own feelings that it transcends its formulaic tics.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
If treats like this are evidence of Washington's special gifts as a filmmaker, Antwone Fisher promises great things for the future.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
With all its pedestrian moments, the film still has the power to sweep you up.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
A safety-first, tried-and-true inspirational story that stays the course right down to its "It's a Wonderful Life" ending.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Denzel Washington's directorial debut reminds me of a 60s British movie called "The Mark": it's liberal minded, heartwarming, sincere, and consequently somewhat old-fashioned and stodgy.
Read Full Review >Variety Eddie Cockrell
Washington reveals himself to be a filmmaker with a clean, uncluttered storytelling style. Too often, overtly inspirational material such as this can become strident or mawkish.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Steve Simels
But there's a vaguely self-congratulatory tone to the screenplay that's a bit off-putting.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
Affecting but formulaic.
New York Magazine Peter Rainer
Should be remembered for a pair of performers -- Derek Luke and Viola Davis, whose cameo as the mother who abandoned him cuts through the sap like an acetylene torch.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
This is the brand of sentimentality that comes with a high concentration of saccharine and every taste of bitterness safely removed.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
Has warmth and integrity, but it lacks the urgency of a story that had to be told.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Although it's touching and sincere, Washington's directorial debut is weakened by a too-slow pace and a story that offers few real surprises.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Charles Taylor
There's nothing in either the conception or execution to lift it above a TV-movie tear-jerker.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
In the hands of lesser mortals, this would add up to perhaps the worst movie of the year. In the hands of Denzel Washington, it manages to work magic on some who might not tolerate such shenanigans from, say, Chris Columbus.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Rick Kisonak
A competently calibrated feel-good machine. It's as effective as anything on The Lifetime Channel. Which is likely where this project would have wound up were it not for the involvement of Washington.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Michael Atkinson
Washington directs with proficient blandness charged only occasionally by organic acting moments.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Directed without a shred of imagination by Denzel Washington -- Antwone Fisher masks a behind-the-scenes story that's far more inspiring than the phony uplift that makes it onto the screen.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 46 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Tim J. gave it a10:
This movie was amazing.
Ff w. gave it a9:
Excellent movie...inspirational...especially at the conclusion.
Livi K. gave it a9:
I great movie, about finding yourself though others. And changing your view on life.
Pat C. gave it a9:
Slightly claustrophobic, but otherwise a real gem. It is always a pleasure to watch a briskly-presented and intelligent film.
Carl W. gave it a 9:
Unfortunately emotional films are branded as claptrap today. If you enjoy honest emotion and have tired of coming away form a movie feeling like you need an immediate shower you should enjoy this.
K. David gave it a 7:
What I don't understand is that the real life story took place back in the sixties but the movie shows that it took place back in the eighties to early nineties. Y was that?
B. B. gave it a 0:
The movie was very blah!!!!!! the movie sucked and i'd never want to see another movie like it.
