Critics Scoreboard
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Average Critic Score:
71
(21 sources)
71
(21 sources)
-
100
New Times (L.A.)
Like gathering storm clouds, Donnie Darko creates an atmosphere of eerie calm and mounting menace -- stands as one of the most exceptional movies of 2001. Read Full Review » -
91
Entertainment Weekly
Kelly, the 26-year-old writer-director of this excitingly original indie vision, shares more artistically with Wes Anderson or Paul Thomas Anderson than he does with Spielberg or John Hughes, but the point is, he's out on his own here. He swings big -- with flair. Read Full Review » -
90
-
90
Village Voice
Certainly the most original and venturesome American indie I've seen this year. Read Full Review » -
80
Washington Post
Appealingly, the movie has a certain lightness -- like the aforementioned butterfly -- which makes its foreboding qualities surprisingly user-friendly. Read Full Review » -
80
Mr. Showbiz
The nerviest, oddest, most outlandish and idiosyncratic American indie debut since "Buffalo 66," Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko defies description. Read Full Review » -
80
-
80
Chicago Reader
Kelly is a supple and courageous storyteller, boldly free-associating as he mixes parody and satire with earnest psychodrama and coming up with plot points no one could anticipate. Read Full Review » -
80
Salon.com
A stunning technical accomplishment that virtually bursts with noise, ideas and references, but it's fundamentally a gracefully crafted movie that's about human beings and not images. Read Full Review » -
78
Austin Chronicle
So much here is equally befuddling and beguiling; I caught myself leaning in toward the screen repeatedly, trying to somehow get closer to the gorgeous impenetrability of the story, of the boy. Read Full Review » -
75
New York Daily News
The flaws are more than balanced out by the risks the earnest Kelly encourages his excellent cast to take. Read Full Review » -
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Its only constant is that it's strangely eloquent and quite original. Read Full Review » -
75
New York Post
Most experienced filmmakers wouldn't even attempt a film that's so blackly funny, that so rapidly shifts genres and tone, and that layers late '80s cultural references so thickly, from "E.T." to Smurfs. Read Full Review » -
70
Variety
Has plenty of problems. But most stem from a young filmmaker overswinging on his first time up to the plate and hitting a deep fly out rather than a home run. Read Full Review » -
70
-
63
Boston Globe
The debut feature from 26-year-old director Richard Kelly shows plenty of promise, but it's somewhat self-involved and won't appeal to audiences who like a straightforward -- even if fantastical -- narrative. Read Full Review » -
63
Chicago Sun-Times
Donnie Darko is the one that got away. But it was fun trying to land it. Read Full Review » -
50
San Francisco Chronicle
If this movie ever figured out what it wanted to be when it grows up, it would be a terrific one. Read Full Review » -
40
Film Threat
This is really one of those Rorschach test films. You either love it or hate it. For those who loved it, I have only one word: overrated. Read Full Review » -
40
The New York Times
It's this compulsion to solder melancholy to weightlessness that constantly trips up the movie; Mr. Kelly doesn't have the assurance to pull off such a difficult feat. Read Full Review » -
38
Chicago Tribune
Just another self-absorbed teen chronicle, with the added twist of a little time travel and a surprise ending. Read Full Review »
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