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The Other Side of Heaven
Metascore
38 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 16
  3. Negative: 3 out of 16
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  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Robert K. Elder
    63
    Captures a breathtaking exotic landscape cluttered only by the smugness of its characters.
  2. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    63
    It is inspirational in characterizing how people from such diverse cultures share the same human and spiritual needs.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    60
    A tad preachy and more than a little bit sanctimonious.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    50
    Earnest, fact-based drama is marred only by the fact that it wants desperately to save your soul.
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  5. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    50
    Easier to sit through than the typical, earnest Christian movie.
  6. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Edward Guthmann
    50
    Handsome and sincere but slightly awkward in its combination of entertainment and evangelical boosterism.
  7. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Chris Willman
    50
    Slick, fact-based, missionary-themed drama.
  8. Variety
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    50
    Rousing, family-friendly item has a big, epic look and state-of-the-art visual effects, which help to make pic -- a high-profile example of the mainstreaming of Christian entertainment.
  9. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    40
    The film looks great and makes sophisticated use of digital effects.
  10. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ron Stringer
    40
    A fine specimen of clean-cut Mormon family entertainment, but it may also be a step in the wrong direction for the fledgling production company.
  11. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    40
    Movies don't get much more wholesome and earnest than The Other Side Of Heaven, a handsomely mounted but empty-headed drama that attempts to do for fresh-faced Mormon missionaries what Top Gun did for cocky fighter pilots.
  12. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ed Park
    40
    Strangely coy about its denominational allegiance.
  13. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Jan Stuart
    40
    The whole trippy experience is like being held at gunpoint by a Jehovah's Witness at the front door while George Gobel holds forth in the living room on Nickelodeon.
  14. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    38
    The film is supposed to be about tolerance, but the only acceptance comes in terms of how the islanders accept the Mormon teachings. Somehow, that doesn't quite feel divine.
  15. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Joshua Rothkopf
    30
    Suffers from suspense-killing righteousness.
  16. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    10
    What sets this syrupy swatch of kitsch apart from other films peddling a dogmatic religious agenda is the serious money that obviously went into it.
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.3 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 57 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 38
  3. Negative: 6 out of 38
  1. HowardY.
    9
    I very much enjoyed this movie, as it DID provide wholesome family entertainment that refrained from the use of violence, sex, or profanity. However, I feel that I must point out to those who did not enjoy the movie, that this was not "Mormon" propaganda, as no one forced you to watch this, and that the film was intended, not limited to, but for Mormons. It was a film that was intended to tell a story about service and self-sacriice, not one of preachiness or "propaganda".… Full Review »
  2. SalomeK.
    10
    It was a wonderful movie but it makes me homesick for my Island.
  3. TimothyS.
    10
    I thought this movie was more than preaching about LDS (mormon) view points; is a good old fashion movie about faith, hope and love and I think its to bad that the anti-mormon/christian media cannot accept a wholesom movie that is lacking in sex, violence and profanity.… Full Review »
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