Magic in the Moonlight
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: July 25, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
54
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
16
Negative:
5
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
ObserverRex ReedJul 23, 2014
A master stroke of enchantment from one of the few legitimate cinematic geniuses of the modern cinema, with a nimble and tender performance of enormous elegance and charm by Colin Firth that is heart-meltingly romantic. Read full review
83
Film.comJordan HoffmanJul 18, 2014
This picture isn’t as showy or obvious as one of his (many) masterpieces, but it is quite good and deserves your time and respect. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJul 24, 2014
Ms. Stone is entrancing, whether Sophie is in or out of her trance state, and so is the movie as a whole. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith UhlichJul 18, 2014
The director’s latest—a lighthearted romance set in 1920s Germany and France—won’t do much to sway proponents or detractors from their own perspectives, though taken at face value, it’s one of Allen’s most charmingly conceived and performed efforts. Read full review
80
VarietyScott FoundasJul 17, 2014
Whenever Firth and Stone are onscreen together, the movie sings; the rest of the time it’s never less than a breezy divertissement. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerJul 25, 2014
Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight is a “serious” movie attempting to be lighthearted. It deals with the same issues that Allen’s idol, Ingmar Bergman, often grappled with – namely, the battle zone of reason versus mysticism – but offhandedly. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 24, 2014
Perhaps the movie's use of the past is more than cosmetic in this one regard: Watching Woody Allen revisit his old themes and obsessions already feels like a nostalgic experience. Actually setting the movie back in time deflects this and makes a virtue of a shortcoming. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversJul 24, 2014
Melancholy and doubt may seem like gloomy qualities to blend into an amorous romp. But that shot of gravity is what makes Magic in the Moonlight memorable and distinctively Woody Allen. Read full review
75
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezJul 18, 2014
Magic In The Moonlight is good in many regards, and mostly enjoyable for most of its 97 minute running time. But it’s also admittedly uneven in spots, familiar and ultimately a bit slight. Read full review
70
The New YorkerDavid DenbyJul 24, 2014
It's an accomplished, stately movie -- unimpassioned but pleasing. [28 July 2014, p.78]
70
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyJul 24, 2014
The séances are great fun, and the cast is charmingly eclectic. But as to whether "Moonlight" is magical — it is, but ever, ever so slightly. Read full review
70
The DissolveTasha RobinsonJul 23, 2014
Early on, it feels like it might become one of Allen’s best. Then the narrative direction becomes clear, the possibilities narrow, and the film shuts down along with them. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJul 18, 2014
While it's breezy and funny and perfectly pleasant, you probably won't remember this particular gift by the time the next birthday rolls around. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyJul 31, 2014
One distraction is that everything feels smothered in an extra helping of déjà vu sauce: another movie featuring a middle-aged misanthrope with a dewy younger woman; another film with stage magic as a theme. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJul 28, 2014
Allen's first mistake is turning this rivalry into a May/December romance. His second misstep is "converting" Stanley, thereby neutering the delightfully acerbic quality that characterizes his and Sophie's early interactions. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyJul 25, 2014
While Allen’s new picture, Magic In The Moonlight, isn’t even close to being a disaster (for that, see, well, "Scoop"), I don’t think it’s unreasonable to note that, in my estimation, it’s where Allen’s latest streak…well, let’s not say “ends.” Let’s be moderate and say “ebbs.” Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigJul 24, 2014
A pleasant, but forgettable, trifle. Read full review
63
Washington PostStephanie MerryJul 24, 2014
It may not be wholly original or without its flaws, but Magic in the Moonlight offers a pleasant vacation from reality, and what more could you want from a summer movie? Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJul 24, 2014
With this script, Allen isn't working in farce mode. It's more an easygoing nod to W. Somerset Maugham or, in the plot's "Pygmalion"-like relationship between a cynical older man and his desired younger female charge, George Bernard Shaw. Read full review
60
EmpireIan NathanSep 15, 2014
Weightless, but not without its enchantments, this is Woody Allen coasting. But where better to coast than the loveliest coast of all? Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierJul 24, 2014
Stone, last seen in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” is served best. Gliding through the film in sailor-girl outfits that evoke film stars of the 1920s, Stone’s big kewpie eyes and long-limbed gamine appeal fit in this era of silent films. Read full review
58
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallAug 13, 2014
It feels like a rush job, needing another draft or two for cohesion's sake, or for Allen to decide what sort of story he's telling. Read full review
58
Portland OregonianMarc MohanAug 7, 2014
Stage magicians often depend on sleight of hand to succeed at their art, but Woody Allen's new movie, Magic in the Moonlight, is just plain slight. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubBen KenigsbergJul 23, 2014
Firth and Stone are terrific, but they’re cast as screwball leads. Given only intermittent opportunities for levity, the two end up serving as mouthpieces for Allen’s dubious self-justifications. Read full review
58
IndieWireEric KohnJul 18, 2014
Magic in the Moonlight belongs to the pool of lesser Allen comedies, yet Firth and Emma Stone — as the alleged necromancer Sophie Baker, the object of Stanley's scrutiny and eventually his affections — bring all the zany energy they can muster. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaAug 1, 2014
For all its visual delights, Magic in the Moonlight, the 44th feature written and directed by the admirably industrious Woody Allen, has to be one of his bigger duds. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrJul 31, 2014
Above all, it is predictable. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJul 28, 2014
It starts off with a flourish and winds up limp, like a rabbit pulled out of a hat that turns out to be dead. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperJul 24, 2014
Firth and Stone, appealing as they are as actors, are so disconnected as potential romantic leads it sometimes appears as if they’re barely in the same scene together. Read full review
50
HitfixDrew McWeenyJul 22, 2014
There's plenty of potential there for really sharp comedy, but Allen's script just lobs softballs. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineDavid Lee DallasJul 21, 2014
A film of obvious characterizations and even more obvious plot machinations that render its moment-to-moment charms moot. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiAug 6, 2014
Those expecting a charming bonbon à la Midnight in Paris may wish to lower their expectations. Magic in the Moonlight’s story is exceedingly threadbare, a first draft that never got fleshed out or tightened up. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelJul 31, 2014
Representing the 78-year-old writer and director at his perfunctory worst, Magic in the Moonlight is an unfunny, unromantic comedy. Read full review
40
SalonAndrew O'HehirJul 24, 2014
Maybe that pictorial pleasantness will distract summer moviegoers from the fact that shot-to-shot transitions are often awkward, dialogue scenes are forced and poorly staged and that even by rom-com standards the obstacles created to keep Sophie and Stanley apart until a respectable running time has elapsed are idiotic. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJul 17, 2014
Magic in the Moonlight does have a not-disagreeable expensive-vacation vibe to it. But the one-dimensional characters are mostly ones you’d want to avoid rather than spend a holiday with. Read full review
38
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJul 23, 2014
“Magic” lacks too many things to rank among Allen’s better recent films — the come-uppance and zeitgeist currency of “Blue Jasmine,” the frivolity of that don’t-think-too-much-about-this lark “Midnight in Paris.” But the biggest shortcoming is right there in the title, a tease if ever there was one. Read full review
30
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJul 24, 2014
Magic in the Moonlight is less a movie than the dutiful recitation of themes and plot points conducted by a squad of costumed actors. The tidy narrative may advance with clockwork precision, but the clock’s most prominent feature is the snooze button. Read full review
30
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlJul 18, 2014
The story feels shapeless, un-tailored, defiantly off the rack. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezJul 31, 2014
Once the premise has been established, the film goes absolutely nowhere. Read full review
20
TheWrapInkoo KangJul 18, 2014
Emma Stone couldn't be more charming, but her on-screen romance with Colin Firth couldn't be more contrived or ickiliy age-inappropriate. Read full review
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