Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Forrest Gump
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 19 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
view
per page
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    What a magical movie.
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    100
    Clean up the language, and this little roach of a movie could play the bottom half of a double bill with Rowan and Martin's “The Maltese Bippy.” [26 March 1999, Life, p.9E]
    All this critic's reviews
  3. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    100
    Passionate and magical, Forrest Gump is a tonic for the weary of spirit.
  4. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    90
    A movie heart-breaker of oddball wit and startling grace.
  5. Film.com
    Reviewed by: John Hartl
    90
    This is an ambitious movie that attempts too much rather than too little.
    All this critic's reviews
  6. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    90
    Manages the difficult feat of being an intimate, even delicate tale played with an appealingly light touch against an epic backdrop.
  7. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    90
    Zemeckis, an undisputed master of film technology, shows off an equal aptitude for vivid storytelling.
  8. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    90
    The results are skillful, highly affecting, and ultimately more than a little pernicious.
  9. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Robert Faires
    89
    A remarkable balance of sentimentality and harshness, darkness and light.
  10. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    88
    Doesn't sound like a very prepossessing title, but prepare to be taken aback by "what's in a name." [6 July 1994, Life, p.1D]
    All this critic's reviews
  11. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Joseph McBride
    80
    The film's technical brilliance and sentimental kick seduced many viewers unsuspecting of its polemical intent.
    All this publication's reviews
  12. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    80
    It's a long drink of water at the fountain of pop-social memory.
  13. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    80
    This is a captivating experience.
  14. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Edward Guthmann
    75
    At its best, Forrest Gump is a gentle, elegiac fantasy about love and trust.
  15. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    70
    It's most successful when it is being off-center, a state of grace it doesn't quite have the nerve to maintain. [6 July 1994, Calendar, p. F-1]
    All this critic's reviews
  16. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Elvis Mitchell
    70
    Has the elements of an emotionally gripping story. Yet is feels less like a romance than like a coffee-table book celebrating the magic of special effect. [6 July 1994, p. C9]
    All this critic's reviews
  17. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    63
    Yet, for all that's wrong here, one thing is wonderfully, blissfully right, and his name is Tom Hanks.
  18. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Staff (not credited)
    60
    Clearly a great event, Forrest Gump is not, however, a great film. It has the form of an epic without real depth or resonance; the trappings of satire without a coherent attitude; and the semblance of historical revisionism without a critical sensibility.
  19. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    It is also glib, shallow, and monotonous, a movie that spends so much time sanctifying its hero that, despite his "innocence," he ends up seeming about as vulnerable as Superman.
prev next
Page:
  • 1

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
9.0 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 299 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 110 out of 123
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 123
  3. Negative: 10 out of 123
  1. nboley08
    10
    One of the most American movies ever made. A brilliant tale of the American Dream narrated by a simple man with simple pleasures. Hanks is at his stunning best here, and Zemeckis proved that he's more than just a technological wizard when it comes to making movies. A classic that deserves to be adored for decades to come.… Full Review »
  2. J-Shap
    3
    A thought crossed my mind many years after viewing this picture: Forrest Gump cannot succeed as a sentimental message picture, because it's message is irresponsible. It is a message of ignorance through bliss, the idea that life would be inherently easier without our pesky brains and ideas. Hanks plays his role as best he could, but the film mistakes a remarkably sad existence for a happy one.… Full Review »
  3. Scraper
    5
    Wouldn't it have been better if Forrest had been shot to death in Vietnam? Too many good things happen to this righteous character. For those of us cynical and in need of any intensity, it's too hard on the brain to see this nitwit who you know nothing bad is going to happen to him, just the way more interesting characters around him.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »