36
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Screen DailyGraham FullerScreen DailyGraham FullerPerversely pleasurable, it works on its own self-conscious terms, though not all audiences will appreciate its English brand of sad-sack humour.
- 70New York Daily NewsEdward DouglasNew York Daily NewsEdward DouglasSome viewers may be surprised by how good Bana is doing comedy. Same with Farmiga, but that allows Gervais to leave some of the heavier lifting as far as acting to his co-stars. Gervais has again done a solid job writing and directing his own material.
- 42The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe more Special Correspondents skirts bad taste — by having the heroes record an ISIS-inspired ransom tape, for instance — the closer it gets to having something to say about mass media and geopolitics.
- 42Entertainment WeeklyKevin P. SullivanEntertainment WeeklyKevin P. SullivanWhat Gervais may have previously turned into a pointed satire of the news media instead becomes a flimsy farce that’s surprisingly low on laughs.
- 40TheWrapDan CallahanTheWrapDan Callahan[Gervais] abandons all sharp edges and serves up a bland, toothless picture that isn’t particularly scathing and doesn’t have anything much to say, even though the basic premise might have allowed for some satirical jabs at journalism and politics.
- 40VarietyNick SchagerVarietyNick SchagerGervais’ tale is primarily consumed with middle-of-the-road squabbling between its headliners, whose yin-yang chemistry never results in more than a few chuckle-worthy bon mots.
- 40The GuardianPeter BradshawThe GuardianPeter BradshawSpecial Correspondents shows that Gervais has a plausible Hollywood career, but there’s a baffling lack of real laughs and performance chemistry between the leads, and very little of the acid characterisation and cynical discomfort which is vital to his screen presence.
- 38Slant MagazineChuck BowenSlant MagazineChuck BowenRicky Gervais's film hopscotches through a variety of premises, looking for jokes that never arrive.
- 33IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichSpecial Correspondents is more about smirking sideways than it is laughing out loud, but it doesn't provoke much of either — it's one thing for Gervais to subdue his usual bark, but his bite has never been softer.
- 30The Hollywood ReporterKeith UhlichThe Hollywood ReporterKeith UhlichIt's never fun watching a comedian's shrewdness ossify into shtick. Yet whatever incisiveness Ricky Gervais once had (and he had plenty, if The Office and Extras are any indication) is barely evident in the new Netflix-released satire Special Correspondents