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The Pacifier
Metascore
30 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 27
  3. Negative: 16 out of 27
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  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    60
    Has sufficient mayhem to please Diesel's action fans while allowing the star to reach out to family audiences.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    All very nice, sometimes we smile, but there's nothing compelling.
  3. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    50
    Don't expect perfection, and you'll emerge from this goofy movie all in one piece, with reasonably entertained kids and a milder headache.
  4. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Gary Thompson
    50
    It's the sort of stuff younger viewers will love.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Carla Meyer
    50
    Unlike Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, Vin Diesel shows no discernible comedic skills.
  6. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    50
    Low on Diesel fuel, though probably amusing enough if you're part of the intended demographic, which appears to be the age group that likes to stick fingers up noses.
  7. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Robert Wilonsky
    50
    Here's a bizarre hodgepodge of influences: "Kindergarten Cop" meets "Sound of Music," filtered through the Hulk Hogan movie "Mr. Nanny." The formula, by now so overused it's actually formless, is pure Disney
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Janet Maslin
    50
    Mr. Diesel could not have succeeded as a genre-switcher without the proven television talents of the film's able ensemble.
  9. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    40
    Vin Diesel is out of his element in this lame family comedy.
  10. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Angel Cohn
    40
    Most of the occasional chuckles are provided by the spunky York, who really gives Diesel a run for his money.
  11. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    40
    If auds swallow this odoriferous exercise in calculated career repositioning, they'll swallow anything.
  12. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    38
    Cheerful but mind-numbing.
  13. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    38
    JUST worth your children's time, and hardly worth yours.
  14. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    38
    Offensive because it offers little more than unleavened stupidity in the place of the family-friendly action and comedy it promises.
  15. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    38
    Director Adam Shankman pushes together scenes with little rhythm or flow. Writers Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant ignore credibility, throw in pointless sight gags, treat humiliation as comedy and use tiresome ethnic stereotypes. In short, Diesel doesn't get the help he needs.
  16. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    33
    A yawn-by-numbers romper-room dud.
  17. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    30
    Revealing hitherto unseen depths of stiffness, Diesel stumbles badly in the role.
  18. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Laura Sinagra
    30
    Disney misfire.
  19. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    30
    With no real comedy to enjoy, it's torture to watch Diesel undergo a predictable change from emotionless soldier to loving family man. Makes you want to spit out your pacifier in disgust.
  20. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    30
    Director Adam Shankman (Bringing Down the House) can't block a sight gag to save his life.
  21. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    25
    It just plain sucks.
  22. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    25
    An abysmal comedy that should have been strangled in its crib.
  23. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    25
    If the once red-hot Vin Diesel's overhyped career wasn't finished off by last summer's mega flop "The Chronicles of Riddick," the alleged family comedy The Pacifier ought to do the trick.
  24. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Peter Debruge
    25
    Diesel valiantly but unsuccessfully tries to raise this inane bit of Mr. Mommery above its afternoon-special standing.
  25. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    25
    Ultimately this soppy Pacifier sucks.
  26. Empire
    Reviewed by: Anna Smith
    20
    Fails on both an emotional and comedic level.
  27. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marrit Ingman
    20
    Is it funny? Not for a minute.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.2 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 60 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 45
  3. Negative: 16 out of 45
  1. MikeH.
    10
    Apparently everyone on this site is an idiot!!! One of the greatest family movies I've ever seen!
  2. [Anonymous]
    10
    Thanks for a great time, watching someone "learn" how to have a great time with kids.
  3. TheQuietGamer
    9
    Although the plot in this movie is cheesy, I thought this movie was hilarious and surprisingly charming, one you and your family will enjoy, just don't expect a deep plot backing it up.… Full Review »
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