Madison
Metascore
43 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 15
  3. Negative: 2 out of 15
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    What is it about Indiana that inspires movies about small-town dreamers who come from behind to win?
  2. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Esposito
    75
    The result is a feeling of quiet heroism--people doing things because it's right to do them, even if it's not easy.
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Michael Rechtshaffen
    50
    The drama gets stuck in a dispiritingly dull rut and fails to build toward what is supposed to be a something of a crowd-rousing triumph over adversity.
  4. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    50
    This otherwise amiable family film plods whenever the action returns to dry land.
  5. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    50
    While Madison is earnest and inoffensive, it offers no surprises, few fascinating characters and a hackneyed script.
  6. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Kim Morgan
    50
    If not for the race sequences and the intriguing presence of Caviezel, who made this film before "The Passion of the Christ" and who one hopes will take on even more roles befitting his peculiar sad-eyed charisma, the film would amount to a well-intentioned snooze.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    50
    Madison couldn't be more wholesome if they served it with a tall glass of fresh milk.
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Anita Gates
    50
    Wants to be both heartwarming and quirky but is sometimes just cutesy instead.
  9. Variety
    Reviewed by: Justin Chang
    50
    Inspirational but uninspired sports movie.
  10. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    50
    Tends toward the generic, and Jim Caviezel is hopelessly bland in the lead. Among the bright spots are Mary McCormack as the hero's wife and Bruce Dern as the wise old motorboat guru.
  11. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    42
    Director and co-writer William Bindley engages every move in the underdog playbook, including, but not limited to, the time the good citizens of Bedford Falls chipped in to make up George Bailey's shortfall in "It's a Wonderful Life."
  12. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Benjamin Strong
    40
    Madison peddles condescending hokum as heartland values.
  13. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Crust
    40
    Benefits from Caviezel's ability to project earnestness better than nearly any actor currently working, but its near-comic predictability, "What else could go wrong?" plotting and cliché-ridden screenplay sink it.
  14. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    By the time this corn festival is over, you'll be crying out for the relative toughness of the average Jimmy Stewart film.
  15. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    25
    There isn't a scene, an action or a character that rings true, yet the narrative summary of the events that inspired it is a matter of record.

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