They Shall Not Grow Old
Fathom Events | Release Date: December 17, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
91
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
27
Mixed:
0
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJan 30, 2019
But it would be a mistake to leave the impression that the rewards of They Shall Not Grow Old are in any way akin to that of the usual BBC historical documentary. There is some overlap, to be sure, but by and large this Peter Jackson film does not offer a historical encounter, so much as an encounter of humanity, a psychic linking of hands across time. Read full review
100
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJan 30, 2019
A major technical accomplishment. But it’s also a major feat of storytelling, one that mentions no dates, place names or famous battles, yet nevertheless manages to evoke a profound sense of connection with its nameless subjects. Read full review
100
The Associated PressLindsey BahrJan 17, 2019
While it might not be a conventional history lesson, it is a necessary and utterly urgent one. Read full review
100
The GuardianPeter BradshawDec 18, 2018
Peter Jackson has created a visually staggering thought experiment; an immersive deep-dive into what it was like for ordinary British soldiers on the western front. Read full review
100
The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeDec 18, 2018
I’ve often argued that cinema is a time machine, but rarely has that seemed so true. Read full review
100
Original-CinLiam LaceyDec 18, 2018
No doubt, there's a certain theme-park appeal to this use of technology to reconstruct a facsimile of the past, but it's shockingly immediate, seeing those old monochrome images of anonymous men in mushroom-cap helmets turned into images of pink-cheeked youth staring back at us through the camera lens. Read full review
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Chandler LevackDec 17, 2018
Using nothing but the voices and the images from the past, They Shall Not Grow Old is a powerful tribute to every veteran and one of the most empathetic portraits of war ever created. His grandfather would be proud. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comScout TafoyaDec 14, 2018
It's a simple thing but if it's not the first film to show World War I taking place under heavenly blue skies it certainly feels like it is. The odd clarity is a horrible but absolutely necessary gift from Jackson and Walsh to these men. Read full review
100
CineVueMartyn ConterioNov 8, 2018
Jackson and his entire production team have produced a film which is both a form of cultural monument and a monumental cinematic achievement. Read full review
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinOct 23, 2018
By applying cutting-edge restoration techniques to footage shot at the time, Jackson has crafted an historical portrait of matchless immediacy and power, in which young souls lost in a century-old war stare out across the years and meet our gaze. Read full review
95
TheWrapElizabeth WeitzmanDec 13, 2018
This was, undeniably, a risky proposition; no one wants to airbrush history. But by thoughtfully employing cutting-edge technology, Jackson has instead created an essential portal connecting audiences of the present to his subjects in the past. Read full review
90
Rolling StonePeter TraversJan 30, 2019
Technology has allowed Jackson to erase the barriers of time and speak to a new generation about what war does to youth. His humane and heartbreaking film is a profound achievement. Read full review
90
Film ThreatAlan NgJan 27, 2019
World War I was a new kind of war, because of its use of planes, tanks, and artillery for the first time. Add in the impossible conditions of trench warfare, where men lived in their own filth and alongside piles of decomposing dead comrades—all brought to you in glorious 3D. Even more haunting is the fact that this is real. Read full review
90
VarietyGuy LodgeDec 18, 2018
if They Shall Not Grow Old is head-spinning for its jolting animation of creakily shot battle scenes — tricked out with ingeniously integrated sound editing and seamlessly retimed from 13 frames a second to 24 — its greatest revelation isn’t one of sound and fury. Rather, it’s the film’s faces that stick longest in the mind. Read full review
90
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganDec 18, 2018
Jackson’s film is more than a technical tribute: it’s a testament to the bravery and camaraderie of the soldiers, the memory of which has faded like the photographs he brings back to life. In a way, it helps arrest the fear that we are forgetting this futile obliteration of an entire generation. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranDec 17, 2018
They Shall Not Grow Old is a tribute paid by the present to the past, and what a gorgeous gift it turns out to be. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJan 30, 2019
The end result goes far beyond the simple colorization of moldering battlefield documentation. It restores the humanity of the combatants, both the British and, surprisingly, the German. Ultimately, it’s a you-are-there time capsule of enormous emotional and historical importance. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliAug 2, 2021
They Shall Not Grow Old isn’t just a compelling motion picture; it’s an important slice of cinema. Read full review
88
Philadelphia Daily NewsGary ThompsonFeb 5, 2019
They Shall Not Grow Old avoids geopolitics to concentrate on the lives of the common soldier and the reality of trenches — the horseplay, camaraderie, boredom, disease, squalor, and terror that were all part of life on the front. It’s a sobering, moving success. Read full review
83
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonDec 18, 2018
It makes a deeply human experience, and one that’s frequently both educational (the film’s main purpose: a copy will be given to every school in Britain) and moving. In fact, it’s not so much individual faces or interviews that leave the most lasting impression so much as it’s the cumulative impact of all the faces. Read full review
80
EmpireJonathan PileNov 12, 2018
An emotionally rich documentary that wows both as a technical achievement and an unforgettable portrait of a terrible period of 20th century history. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonOct 17, 2018
As a immersive primer on the first-hand experiences of British soldiers, this innovative documentary is a haunting, moving and consistently engaging lesson in how to bring the past vividly alive Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsFeb 1, 2019
The film works best in its most acutely observed details of daily life in the trenches. Read full review
75
IGNWitney SeiboldJan 3, 2019
Peter Jackson's technical ambitions sometimes muddy his otherwise moving WWI documentary They Shall Not Grow Old. Read full review
75
IndieWireMike McCahillOct 17, 2018
Wearing its sincerity like an Armistice Day poppy, the resulting montage-film – which premiered at the London Film Festival ahead of future TV transmissions – does its utmost to honor the conflict’s fallen. Read full review
70
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergJan 31, 2019
Peter Jackson has taken a mass of World War I archival clips from Britain’s Imperial War Museum and fashioned it into a brisk, absorbing and moving experience. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreDec 17, 2018
It is immersive, letting us hear and feel the concussion of artillery, if not whistling hail of bullets and the desperation and fury of hand to hand combat. Read full review
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