Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Orchard, The | Release Date: June 24, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
EmpireDan JolinSep 13, 2016
A bit "Up," a bit "Moonrise Kingdom," a bit "Midnight Run," even… Taika Waititi’s latest is an oddball treat of a mismatched-buddy pursuit move. Read full review
100
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniJul 1, 2016
The photography is lush, the dialogue uproarious, and the crazy action sequences unforgettable. Read full review
100
HitfixDrew McWeenyJun 23, 2016
While Hunt For The Wilderpeople is very funny, what makes it stick is the way Waititi allows the relationship between Hec and Ricky to develop slowly, and how nimbly he sets the emotional stakes for both of the characters. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJul 7, 2016
Long story short: Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a terrific movie and you should do whatever you can to see it. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJun 23, 2016
Every once in a while, a small, unheralded film comes along, so smart and funny, such a pleasure to experience, you can't believe your luck. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is such a film. Read full review
90
Village VoiceApril WolfeJun 23, 2016
One of the most sincere and funny portraits of family life to come along in a while. Read full review
90
New York Daily NewsEdward DouglasJun 22, 2016
The best thing the director has going for this one is the talented young actor playing Ricky Baker, as he constantly tries to emulate his tough "gangsta" heroes like Tupac Shakur. (He even names his dog "Tupac.") Read full review
90
Screen DailyTim GriersonJan 27, 2016
Warmly funny and deeply delightful, Hunt For The Wilderpeople is a tale of two misfits told with such generosity of spirit and consistent good humour that it’s a pleasant surprise to discover how sneakily touching it is as well. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesMiriam Di NunzioJul 7, 2016
The friendship that develops between Ricky and Hec is priceless; they are each other’s salvation, whether they realize it or not. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJun 24, 2016
Waititi’s film defies its convention through grounded characters, witty dialogue, compassionate filmmaking and inventive storytelling. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is consistently clever and even moving. It’s proof that we’ll keep listening to the familiar stories if they’re this well-told. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJun 23, 2016
Waititi (who’s also responsible for the best comedy of 2015, "What We Do in the Shadows," and will next tackle the third "Thor" film) executes a series of deft narrative U-turns, twisting the tale into 101 minutes of pure comic joy. Read full review
86
The VergeTasha RobinsonJun 25, 2016
A film that so perfectly reveals its characters both through the way they charge past calamity, and the way they subtly reflect their own pasts. Read full review
83
ConsequenceMichael RoffmanMay 24, 2016
Filmmaking this fresh, this vibrant, and this affecting for all ages is rare these days. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonSep 13, 2016
Overall this is an absolute pleasure. There are times when Waititi’s script borders on genius. Read full review
80
Total FilmKevin HarleySep 12, 2016
Warm, witty, and occasionally wild, Waititi’s bush-bonding romp is a kind, generous-spirited winner. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla DargisJun 23, 2016
Hunt for the Wilderpeople takes a troika of familiar story types — the plucky kid, the crusty geezer, the nurturing bosom — and strips them of cliché. Charming and funny, it is a drama masquerading as a comedy about an unloved boy whom nobody wants until someone says, Yes, I’ll love him. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJun 23, 2016
Has its share of misfired jokes and pseudo-mythic sequences that semi-fizzle. All in all, though, it’s majestical nonsense that is anything but nonsensical. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijJan 27, 2016
[Waititi's] nimble adaptation here combines solid writing with an entire bag of filmmaking tricks that includes visual gags, unexpected cuts and quick montage sequences to score laughs from the get-go. He also cleverly exploits who these people are to get the audience in stitches. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiJul 13, 2016
What elevates this conventional tale is how Waititi tells it. With sharp, nimble humor, and one-liners that come a mile a minute, Wilderpeople is a sweet story told with biting wit and an editing style that keeps things going at a rapid pace. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonJul 7, 2016
Life in remote parts of New Zealand must forge hardy souls, judging from the characters in Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadayJun 30, 2016
Even when it dispenses with realism altogether, Hunt for the Wilderpeople conveys important truths about the will and sheer endurance it takes to make a family. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTom RussoJun 29, 2016
Polished? Not exactly. Poignant? Definitely. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJun 22, 2016
Works best when it straddles the same line between mild hostility and equally mild affection. Read full review
75
The PlaylistSam FragosoJan 27, 2016
By extension of the film's unending niceness, Waititi has made a movie mired in the middle-ground, a terrain marred by the absence of innovation. Read full review
75
The Film StageJordan RaupJan 27, 2016
Throughout his films, Waititi has always been skilled at melding comedy with trauma and crafting screenplays with crowdpleasing callbacks. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is another such example of amiable, kind-hearted storytelling. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis HarveyJan 27, 2016
For the most part, pic’s sheer good-naturedness pulls off a not particularly inspired crusty-old-coot-thawed-by-young-scamp concept, maintaining an agreeable tonal balance despite occasional wobbles between spoof, sentimentality and silliness. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJun 23, 2016
The film is maddeningly uneven. Just as it starts to settle into an inspired groove, it uncorks a couple of gags that fall lethally flat, making for half of a great comedy. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJun 22, 2016
It infuses an outdoorsy survival tale and a coming-of-age story of friendship with Taika Waititi's penchant for distaff flakiness. Read full review
60
CineVueMatthew AndersonJun 23, 2016
Structured in a series of chapters, there is an element of picturebook, even fairytale, enchantment to Hunt for the Wilderpeople. It is easy to be swept up in the adventure of it all, and the comedy and light-heartedness make it eminently watchable but as one narrow escape leads to another, and another, things start to feel a little thin. Read full review
60
The GuardianNigel M SmithJan 27, 2016
As the proceedings grow increasingly more far-fetched, the story starts to feel thinner, any semblance of reality increasingly abandoned. What keeps Hunt for the Wilderpeople afloat are the full-blooded characters that populate it. Read full review
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