GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Film

Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

 

Wide Releases

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 

Limited Releases

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Last Mimzy, The
New Line Cinema

Last Mimzy, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 59 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
5.6 out of 10
based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 40 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for some thematic elements, mild peril and language

Starring Chris O'Neil, Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, Joely Richardson, Timothy Hutton, Rainn Wilson, Kathryn Hahn, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Kirsten Williamson

Based on the acclaimed sci-fi short story by Lewis Padgett, The Last Mimzy tells the story of two children who discover a mysterious box that contains some strange devices they think are toys. As the children play with these "toys," including a beat-up stuffed rabbit named Mimzy, they begin to display higher and higher intelligence levels. (New Line Cinema)


GENRE(S): Adventure  |  Drama  |  Family/Kids  
WRITTEN BY: Bruce Joel Rubin and Toby Emmerich
James V. Hart & Carol Skilken (screen story)
Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore (short story Mimsy Were the Borogoves)
 
DIRECTED BY: Robert Shaye  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: July 10, 2007 
Theatrical: March 23, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 94 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

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...

75
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The newcomer kids are delightfully...kidlike. Cosmic bonus: "The Office's" Rainn Wilson plays a New Agey science teacher.
Read Full Review
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Paula Nechak
Call it "E.T." for a new generation.
Read Full Review
75
TV Guide Ken Fox
An intelligent, imaginative children's adventure refreshingly free of rapping cartoon animals, fart jokes and mind-numbing special effects.
Read Full Review
75
New York Post Lou Lumenick
An unexpectedly disarming, extremely well-cast little variation on "E.T."
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle G. Allen Johnson
Though it becomes flimsy toward the end, it's a ripping yarn.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Ty Burr
For smart kids between the ages of 8 and 12, the movie hits the sweet spot with a satisfying cosmic bang. It's a cross between "A Wrinkle in Time" and a middle-school version of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
Read Full Review
75
The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
If Mimzy serves as a gateway drug that gets "Shrek" fans into classic science fiction, then it'll have performed an invaluable cultural service.
Read Full Review
75
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
An involving fantasy for beamish boys and girls - and their parents.
Read Full Review
75
Miami Herald Peter Debruge
On paper, it may sound like high-level calculus, but on screen, The Last Mimzy is perfectly charming. Like "Cocoon" for the elementary-school set, the box transforms Noah and Emma's lives.
Read Full Review
70
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
For a family picture this is still superior.
Read Full Review
70
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
A capable, if modest, charmer.
Read Full Review
70
The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen
A reasonably engaging movie filled with fun visual effects and an appealing tone reminiscent of a certain Spielberg movie about an out-of-his-element extraterrestrial.
Read Full Review
70
Village Voice Rob Nelson
Mimzy, whose charmingly retro FX date to around 1985, won't post Peter Jackson figures at the box office, but you can't say that Shaye doesn't have the magic touch.
Read Full Review
63
ReelViews James Berardinelli
For adults, while The Last Mimzy is not unpleasant, it lacks the polish and substance to be anything more than an opportunity to attend a movie with one's family. The film does a lot of things but it never fully satisfies.
Read Full Review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
So that great start turns all clunky and dull and, you know, mediocre. Still, you'll love Emma. Emma is about as cute as a kid can get.
Read Full Review
60
Variety John Anderson
Kids will like Mimzy if for no other reason than it doesn't talk down to them.
Read Full Review
50
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
This children's sci-fi movie should be palatable to the young and old alike, yet it's ultimately more a mild diversion than a magical adventure.
Read Full Review
50
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
The sense of the unknown that "Padgett" created are largely absent. And the movie fails to supply us with an antagonist to work up some dramatic conflict. Nor are the toys themselves very interesting and Mimzy is a toy bunny of no distinction.
Read Full Review
50
Washington Post Desson Thomson
The best element of the movie is a subplot involving Noah's spiritually obsessed teacher (Rainn Wilson) and his wacky girlfriend (Kathryn Hahn), whose bumbling eccentricities give the movie an emotional liveliness it otherwise lacks.
Read Full Review
50
Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
There is a dearth of good children's films right now, at least of the nonanimated variety, and undoubtedly The Last Mimzy will fill a vacuum for some families. But it's a default choice, not a prime pick.
Read Full Review
50
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
For many kids, the response to the original story remains delighted awe. The most appropriate response here is a thoroughly baffled "huh?"
Read Full Review
50
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
The Last Mimzy displays a gentle touch and the best of intentions. But the film's message never quite becomes clear; what, exactly, are young minds supposed to take away from this film?
Read Full Review
50
Los Angeles Times Michael Ordona
Being a "family film" may excuse many faults, considering the intended audience, but it's hard to think of a recent movie that has more determinedly married the engaging with the banal.
Read Full Review
50
USA Today Claudia Puig
The film feels as if it's trying to force a sense of wonder and awe upon its youthful audience, rather than simply letting an intriguing story unfold naturally.
Read Full Review
50
The New York Times Jeannette Catsoulis
Despite leaden direction and a story crammed with pseudoscientific flotsam -- including palm reading, levitation, time travel and telepathy -- The Last Mimzy is a wholesome, eager entertainment that doesn't talk down.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 5.6 (out of 10) based on 40 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Brenda S. gave it a3:
It's pretty bad when my 9 year old falls asleep during the middle of the movie. Need I say more?

Peter J. gave it a9:
Awesome movie. I was expecting a good average movie before watching it, but was totally blown away by the story, acting, and especially the visual effects. I watched the movie with my wife and two young kids and they absolutely loved it. I sometimes pick up my PSP halfway through kids movies, but not this one. I even held my urine for the last 45 minutes!

Peter K. gave it a1:
I am so glad that I saw this film on a plane and did not waste my money at a theater. It is a white-bread home-schooler's fantasy. Wait to see it as a late night rerun so you can sleep through it.

[Anonymous] gave it a4:
Quite boring good for children, lets their imagination run wild!

fred b gave it a6:
this movie was cute but lacked very much entertainment. The acting was pretty poor at times and there was no point in the film were you felt at the edge of your seat.

nicole gave it a9:
Thought it was great. My daughter is 5 and wants to see it over and over again. Would have liked a little more detail on the rabbit and a more detailed ending but over all wonderful

Matt K. gave it a5:
I think this movie works best as a campy, pseudo- horror flick for kids. Instead of E.T. or Close Encounters for middle schoolers, like the exorcist for kids. frickin crazy and ends fairly unsatisfying, but its a fun crazy ride.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: MLB | Spore | iPhone 3G | Paris Hilton | Antivirus Software | GPS | Recipes | Shwayze | NFL

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use