User Score
6.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 164 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 30 out of 164

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  1. JohnB
    Jan 5, 2010
    10
    Very beautiful and moving film. Love it lots, especially Saoirse Ronan, who is simply the Best.
  2. D.F.N
    Jan 3, 2010
    9
    A little slow in parts, but a beautiful crafted film with terrific cinematography. The cast is excellent. Just the right combination of touching and suspenseful.
  3. BobE
    Dec 31, 2009
    10
    Beautiful portrayal of the abtract and ethereal consequences of tragic loss - an amazingly accurate portrayal of a unique and thought provoking novel.
  4. CC
    Dec 14, 2009
    9
    I did not read the book but this film makes me cry all the way through. I will recommend all parents with teen age daughter to watch this film. I am against all critics and believe Peter Jackson did another master piece after Lord of the Rong and king Koun.
  5. EmilioA.
    Jan 20, 2010
    10
    It such a beautiful and emotional film that give movie real power, ronan performance was perfect, peter Jackson the greatest director of the decade show he can visualize the perfect heaven and the ugly human world of the killer
  6. DC
    Feb 15, 2010
    9
    Awesome film, u'll either love it or hate it.... reminds on the Pan's Labyrinth days where everyone hated it, yet its one of the most glorified movies of the decade... GO watch Lovely BOnes and decide for yourself... excellent interpretation of the book.
  7. OmarD.
    Jan 31, 2010
    9
    The Lovely Bones was a truly awesome event. I felt that the way Jackson transitioned between the events in the real world and Susie in the in-between really showed the emotional connection between the characters. Also I've noted that many critics are citing the exclusion of the highly graphic rape scene and Jackson's indirect portrayal of the murder as being a bad thing. Um...no. I'll put it this way: Hitchcock would be pleased with how it was handled. I also feel that the exclusion of Rachel Weiss' character's extramarital affair with the investigating detective only helped to keep the film focused, especially considering her performance was arguably one of the weakest. Expand
  8. JackS
    Feb 22, 2010
    9
    Why Avatar is considered 'meaningful and beautifully shot' and this is considered 'badly written CG-wank' confuses me to no end. As chilling as it is heartwarming, The Lovely Bones is something that you rarely see in movies nowadays; New.
  9. Sep 12, 2010
    9
    i think that this film was very emotional it adds a lot of drama especially for the kind of story that it is. the cast performed very well and convincing especially Saoirse Ronan. for those who have read the book it adds suspension knowing what is going to happen and knowing the events that are building up in the movie
  10. Jun 1, 2011
    10
    People expect this movie to be dark and gloomy, but it is not, is it a happy and moving film. Yes, this movie is sad, but it is a very inspirational film, Saoirse Ronan is an amazing actress, one to watch! :D
  11. Jun 22, 2011
    10
    A beautifully crafted film that resonates with evil, love, vengeance, and the devastating effects of the death of a child at the hands of a serial killer. The critics who pan this movie must be bereft of sensation. I thought it was mesmerising!
  12. Sep 23, 2011
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Coming to this long after the critics had mauled it, I was surprised and impressed with how good it is. I haven't read the book, so I can't comment on its fidelity to source material, but Jackson creates hyper-real worlds where saturated seventies garish and the usual unforgiving close-ups he adores somehow endow genre stereotypes with a peculiarly hallucinogenic depth. Oddly, the spacious landscapes of the afterlife somehow feel more real than the suffocating scenes of suburbia and the household, but perhaps that's wishful thinking!

    I can't help thinking that what was expected was a satisfying moral fable, and the unexpected conclusion will have disappointed those wanting earthly justice rather than just desserts. I wonder if that's why critics like Roger Ebert ("a deplorable film") could be so thrown off balance that that they don't even follow the plot (the "lovely bones" do not belong to Susie) and obsess about whether the heaven presented is factually accurate! The fact is that the ending is truer to life than Ebert gives it credit. As a fan of Brian Eno, I guess I'm biased, but I thought the climax of the film, accompanied by his "The Big Ship" had more emotional draw than either of the big endings of KK and LOTR. Tucci was fantastically creepy (though he seemed to have based his style on Dustin Hoffman's tics and murmurs) and anyone who thinks that Jackson shied away from the horror of the murder has just become desensitised by graphic violence, failing to sense the evil in even the most mundane encounters with George Harvey.

    My only caveat was that some scenes seemed a touch too long, but perhaps brisker editing would have turned it into the thriller that some thought it should have been, and it would have lost the lyrical, elegiac quality that made it so absorbing.

    Now, back to my Eno collection and 'Small Craft on a Milk Sea.'
    Expand
  13. Aug 31, 2012
    9
    It really is quite a beautiful movie. It is rather unique. Acting is great along with the pace. The ending is sad but a spectacle at the same time. I didn't know what to expect from this movie but it certainly pulled through.
  14. Jan 4, 2013
    9
    The film 'the lovely bones' is really moving as it brings you into the life of the girl and her experiences- you really get to feel what she does. I also loved the supernatural element questioning what happens between life and death and whether you still have a connection with the real world. The film also made you think about how other peoples minds work and what goes on in the minds of psychopaths as well as presenting relationships between the girl and her family after she dies. I would not say it has a great storyline or has lots of action, if that is what you are looking for, but it is great for making you think and is a film that you will definitely remember for the right reasons! The acting is also brilliant Expand
Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 36 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 36
  2. Negative: 10 out of 36
  1. Reviewed by: Ian Freer
    80
    Like “The Lord Of The Rings,” The Lovely Bones does a fantastic job with revered, complex source material. As terrific on terra firma as it is audacious in its astral plane, it is doubtful we’ll see a more imaginative, courageous film in 2010.
  2. Reviewed by: David Ansen
    50
    How do you literalize heaven? It's a problem moviemakers have struggled with forever, and Jackson hasn't solved it.
  3. Jackson and his team tell a fundamentally different story. It's one that is not without its tension, humor and compelling details. But it's also a simpler, more button-pushing tale that misses the joy and heartbreak of the original.